Lando Norris on pole position in Spain: “It was the perfect lap”

Lando Norris shone during the qualifying session of the Spanish Grand Prix by clinching his second career pole position. The McLaren driver, visibly thrilled, declared in an interview after the qualifiers that it was an almost perfect lap. “We know we’re doing a good lap when we start getting excited, and everything went perfectly in the end.” He also expressed his gratitude towards the fans present, stating that their support had been incredible.

Since Miami, Norris and McLaren have shown a constant improvement in their performances. “We have been quick in the past two months. Since Miami, we have been very strong. Today was the perfect lap,” explained the Briton. He acknowledged that Max Verstappen and Red Bull seemed slightly stronger throughout the weekend, but thanks to a few adjustments for the final attempt, he was able to achieve a flawless lap.

This pole position, obtained thanks to a lap that he describes as the best of his career, is all the more precious as it comes after a long wait since his first pole in Sochi. “I put almost everything together, I had a good slipstream. Probably my best turn on the whole lap, every part put together. Max was a bit ahead in Q1 and Q2. I knew I had to do something perfect in Q3, and that’s exactly what I did.”

We are here to win

Norris also reflected on the difficulty of achieving a perfect lap in the current conditions of Formula 1, with demanding cars and tires. “It’s so difficult nowadays, with the car and the tires, and we’re pushing so hard to get everything together. Succeeding in getting everything right at the right time is very difficult,” he admitted.

As for tomorrow’s race, Norris remains optimistic, but realistic. (The victory) is our goal, but I know it’s going to be tough against Max, against Lewis and all the others behind, but we’re here to win now, so that’s my plan », he said. He also noted that the first corner could be a challenge, emphasizing the importance of minimizing errors and executing a good race strategy.

The qualifications this weekend were extremely tight, with the McLaren driver mentioning that the gaps between the top five were never more than a tenth of a second. « Probably Max always had two and a half tenths ahead of everyone in Q1 and Q2. For the last lap, I had to give it my all and I managed to get that little bit needed to surpass Max. »

As the race approaches, he is now preparing for an intense duel with Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari. Between Mercedes, ourselves, Red Bull, Ferrari, there are eight cars that could probably have been on pole today and have a chance to win the race tomorrow.