Norris bracing for big battle with rivals in Sprint event

Lando Norris believes McLaren faces a fierce fight in Saturday’s Sprint race in Qatar, even after delivering an impressive pole position in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying.

The Briton set the pace throughout the session, getting the job done on his first run in SQ1 and ultimately preceding Mercedes’ George Russell by just 0.063 seconds after an imperfect second attempt.

However, despite securing the top spot, the McLaren driver remains cautious about the challenges that lie ahead.

“It’s tough because it’s so quick around there,” Norris reflected on his pole-winning lap. “It feels like the quickest circuit of the year. I mean, it’s like the final sector just feels like you’re hanging on.

“Great qualifying today, especially to bounce back from where we were last time out in Vegas. It’s a nice thing to do, so happy.

“It was a decent lap. I made a couple of too many mistakes on my second. But we were coming here to get pole and we did that, so job done for today.”

• Read also: Norris clinches Qatar Sprint pole - Russell secures second

While Norris was delighted with his performance, he acknowledged the complexities of the track and the demanding conditions. The three-time Grand Prix winner highlighted the significant increase in pace compared to the sport’s last visit to the track, with his pole time three seconds quicker than last year.

“Yeah, the wind plays a big part, but the conditions are also a lot better than last season,” he explained. “Makes it a lot tougher physically, but also makes it a lot quicker to drive.

“I struggle too, but I think some of the other cars are close to being flat in most of the corners in the final sector and that’s quite an accomplishment.

“So it feels quick and when it feels quick it must be very fast.”

He noted the challenge of managing the evolving grip levels during qualifying, particularly as tyre performance varied through each lap.

“It’s a challenge out there, not easy to put a lap together especially because the tyres don’t feel ‘in’ for the beginning [of the lap] and then kind of through the lap you gain confidence.

“So that’s been the challenge of today, but it’s paid off, we made some good improvements into qualifying and I was happy with it.”

With team-mate Oscar Piastri starting third, McLaren is in a prime position to extend its advantage over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship. However, Norris is fully aware of the competition from Mercedes and Ferrari in the 30-minute Sprint.

“I want to win, we want to win every session as drivers,” Norris said. “Our target is a 1-2, we want to maximise points for our Constructors today. So, yeah, we want to go for it.

“We know it’s gonna be a battle, we know Mercedes will be quick, Ferrari will be fast, so not expecting an easy one, probably an exciting one for everyone watching.”

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