Lando Norris claims damage stopped true pace at British Grand Prix sprint qualifying

McLaren’s Lando Norris claims the damage he picked up in SQ1, during Sprint Qualifying at the British Grand Prix, hindered his ability to show the ‘true pace’ of the McLaren.

Feature image credit: McLaren Racing

The defending world champion could only qualify in sixth place on the grid ahead of the sprint race at the British Grand Prix, around the Silverstone circuit, behind the two Ferraris, Mercedes and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

However, the #1 McLaren was met with trouble during sprint qualifying after he picked up damage to his front brake duct during SQ1, hindering his pace in SQ2, which saw him almost take an early exit by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. The Briton managed to scrape through to SQ3 by 0.081 seconds in hand over the 11th-placed Alpine.

The team managed to fix Norris’ problem ahead of SQ3, which ultimately became a one-lap shootout amongst the top 10.

Of this, Norris claims that once he got a ‘true feeling’ on the final lap, the world champion said it was too late, hindering their true pace. Following sprint qualifying, Norris said:

“An unfortunate day for us in Sprint Qualifying. We had an issue in SQ1 that made the car feel completely different. The team did a great job to fix it just before SQ3, but by the time I got a true feeling for its potential on the final lap, it was too late.

“I felt I could have pushed way more, so it’s a shame we couldn’t show our true pace. We know the speed is there and we’ll work to understand what we can improve for the race.”

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Despite the Briton’s result in qualifying, the world champion still believes he can be competitive with the cars that surround him, but expects a difficult fight.

With a ‘huge boost’ from the home crowd, and those in attendance in the ‘Landostand,’ the McLaren driver is hoping to ‘put on a good show’ for the fans. He said:

“The support from the fans in Landostand and across Silverstone has been incredible and seeing them all out there is a huge boost. We think we can be competitive with the cars around us. It will be a difficult fight, but you never know what can happen, and we’ll be giving it everything to have a better day and put on a good show for the home crowd.”

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Zak Brown happy with line-up after Max Verstappen McLaren rumours
• Hamilton dominates sprint qualifying to take pole at British Grand Prix
• Hamilton tops sole practice at British Grand Prix
• Mercedes can’t assume their recent performance will continue at British Grand Prix
• Ferrari identified improvements ahead of British Grand Prix
• The Rise Of Racing Bulls: Can They Keep The Double-Points Streak Going At Silverstone?
• Formula 1 brings back LEGO cars for British Grand Prix

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.