Qualifying was a "bit of a struggle" despite pole position, reckons Norris
Having clinched his seventh pole position of the year, McLaren driver Lando Norris acknowledged that the qualifying session was " a bit of a struggle" despite a dominant one-two for the Woking-based outfit.
McLaren go in search of their first constructors’ title since 1998 today in Abu Dhabi. The British outfit heads into the race 21 points clear of rivals Ferrari, the only team still able to deny them constructors’ glory.
After Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row for the papaya team, McLaren has put itself in the box seat to achieve that feat today. The qualifying's results backed up McLaren's one-two finishes in Free Practices 2 and 3 despite the challenges posed by Ferrari and Red Bull in the early stages of qualifying.
Despite his pole position, Norris said that the qualifying session was a bit of a struggle for him as he had expected a more straightforward session after the dominant showing during the practice sessions.
"Quali was a bit of a struggle, honestly. We just expected, probably, to be a little bit better than what we were. The weekend so far has been quite straightforward from our side. It just seems like everyone caught up a lot come qualifying, and we had to start pushing a lot more.
"It was a good lap. It was not the cleanest, but sometimes when you're close enough to the edge and it's just a little bit untidy, sometimes it's actually quite a nice place to be. So I had a couple snaps, and I had a big snap into 9, the high speed. I just made a mistake.
"That hurt me a touch, but otherwise it was a nice lap. I put the rest of it together pretty well. Just not an easy circuit to do. We had a bit to gain in quali, because Max was looking a little bit quicker than us through the most part of it. So I knew I had to pull something out.
Push on to comment on the track conditions, Norris said that the track felt much quicker compared to the previous season, but cars have also become quicker over the past months.
"The track's been quick all weekend. You know, comparing to last year, we're quite a bit quicker. The cars are probably part of it, too. But the track's been good. The wind's been fairly consistent. Obviously, it rises through the day and dies away a bit through the night time.
"It has an effect but it's been quite consistent the whole weekend. So once you understand it, you know where you can push and use the wind and where you have to be a bit more on the cautious side and try and avoid it.
Norris appears to be carrying a little more downforce than some of his rivals which could make him a little bit more vulnerable. However, he hopes that the choice will "come back to" them in the race.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. But if that's your analysis, then… We'll see. I think on a day like today with DRS and things, it's probably not our biggest strength. I think come the race, things even out a little bit more. So potentially, we knew we'd be a little bit on the back foot today with straight-line speed.
"We're hoping tomorrow it kind of comes back to us, because comparing to Ferrari, we're a little bit down. And comparing to Red Bull, we're quite a chunk down. It's not necessarily just downforce. We're at the lowest of what our wing can provide. The next step for us is too big.
"So maybe other people are just in more of a sweet spot and more in an optimal range this weekend than we are ourselves. The car's been great all weekend. It's performing well, and we'll make sure it does the same tomorrow.
With McLaren having put intself in the box seat to clinch the teams' title for the first time since 1998, Norris has acknowledged that his team is in a much more fortunate position than what Ferrari in,
"I mean, I feel like Zak's probably more nervous that we're first and second than if we were not, so... It gives us good knowledge that the car is great, of course. I think we've both been driving well this weekend, and we knew the pressure was on, from ourselves.
"So we've both performed well. We've both got everything out of the car. But this is a long race, and many things can happen. So we're definitely not going to get ahead of ourselves. We know we have a little bit of a gap in terms of positions. We're in a much more fortunate position than what Ferrari are.
"He's going to be putting up a good fight for his final race with Ferrari. You know, he's going to want to prove his point. And I'm excited to battle if that's the case.
