Breaking news
Formula 1 Australian GP
Q3 shot "definitely" unexpected for Norris and McLaren
Formula 1 rookie Lando Norris and his McLaren team have admitted his progress to the top-10 shootout in Australian Grand Prix qualifying was a surprise.
Scott Mitchell
Edited: Mar 16, 2019, 12:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The 19-year-old will start his grand prix debut from eighth on the grid in Melbourne, after McLaren’s low-key pre-season gave way to an unexpectedly encouraging qualifying performance.
Norris beat the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen and Racing Point of Sergio Perez in Q3, as McLaren every team in the midfield except Haas.
Norris said he had “a lot of nerves” going into qualifying because he had “never managed to put it all together” through practice.
Asked by Motorsport.com if he thought he would be in the final part of qualifying, Norris said: “Definitely not!
“I think you can tell by doing three runs in Q1 we were a bit unsure if I could make it into Q2, so we put a lot of effort into trying to achieve that.
“We had only one set of new tyres for Q2 so we weren’t in as strong a position as some of the other drivers, but still got into Q3.
“It’s definitely not what we were expecting - everyone, the team, myself and you guys [the media].”
Read Also:
McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown agreed with his new driver that eighth “exceeded where we were going to qualify”.
Norris’s teammate Carlos Sainz Jr was knocked out of the opening phase of qualifying and will start 18th, although this was exacerbated by the Spaniard being held up by Robert Kubica just as the Williams driver had an off in Q1.
“What you want your drivers to do is to do their job extremely well and not make mistakes, and they both did that,” said Brown.
“And Lando being a rookie, you'd be understanding if he did make a mistake, and he didn't.”
Sainz opted to use two sets of tyres in qualifying, compared to three for Norris, as he said he felt “pretty confident” after practice.
He was knocked out of Q1 after suffering a “problem with the engine” that cost him time on his banker lap, and then lapped just one tenth of a second slower than Raikkonen in 15th.
“We went into a second run and I was coming in much faster, there was a massive track evolution, and I was coming in with a lap good enough for the top 10,” Sainz explained.
“But unfortunately I found Robert with a puncture going into the last two corners, so you can imagine how frustrating that was.
“You can imagine I’m disappointed, because up until that point the weekend had been good, and when one car is in Q3 you want to have both of them there."
Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34
Photo by: Andy Hone / LAT Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Kubica says brushing wall was "embarrassing"
Next article Mercedes: Red Bull "very different" after "huge" Honda step
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Lando Norris
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
More from
Mercedes
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
13 h
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
14 h
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
Latest news
How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
6 min
How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil
Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
27 min
Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff
Winners and losers from MotoGP’s contentious Qatar Grand Prix
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
49 min
Winners and losers from MotoGP’s contentious Qatar Grand Prix
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe