Lando Norris said he felt like he was hanging onto his car during a Sprint qualifying lap at the high-speed Lusail circuit ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.
Lusail’s fast corners and flat curbs allow drivers to push their cars close to their limits, while also providing a physical test for themselves behind the wheel. Norris secured pole position for Saturday’s Sprint with his first flying lap of SQ3 and admits he couldn’t execute a clean attempt on his second run.
“It’s tough, because it’s so quick around here,” Norris said. “It feels like the quickest circuit of the year. I mean, the final sector just feels like you’re hanging on. It was a decent lap, I made too many mistakes on my second. But we were coming here to get pole, and we did that, so job done for today.”
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Norris says the conditions contributed to the errors on his final attempt, with wind gusts destabilizing cars due to their unpredictability.
“The wind plays a big part, but the conditions are also a lot better than last season,” he said. “It makes it a lot tougher physically, but it also makes it much quicker to drive. I think most of the cars are close to being flat in most of the corners in the final sector, which is quite an accomplishment.
“It felt quick — and when it feels quick, it must be very fast. It’s a challenge to put a lap together, especially when the tires don’t feel in for the beginning, and through the lap you gain confidence. 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 teammate Oscar Piastri starting from third place behind George Russell, McLaren is targeting maximum points on Saturday as it looks to try and wrap up the constructors’ championship.
“Our target is one-two. We know it’ll be a battle,” Norris said. “Mercedes will be quick, Ferrari will be fast, so not expecting an easy one. Probably expecting an exciting one for everyone watching, so looking forward to it tomorrow.”