Lando Norris Anticipates a Challenge at the Dutch Grand Prix
ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Lando Norris acknowledges that he will need “some magic” to overtake Oscar Piastri and secure victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, after qualifying behind his teammate on Saturday. After leading the three practice sessions prior to qualifying, Norris was only 0.012 seconds behind Piastri in Q3 and will start second on the grid, behind his rival. Norris, who has won three of the last four races this season, reduced the gap to Piastri in the standings to nine points before the summer break, but affirmed that something special would be needed to maintain that momentum and secure a victory from the second position on the grid.Despite setting the pace during practice, Norris commented that the small difference in performance between the two McLaren drivers meant he didn’t consider himself the favorite for qualifying. “I would have loved to be in the pole position,” he said. “I think that’s what would have made me happier.” “But it’s been a fight all weekend. You just look at the results and I’ve been ahead, but I could easily have been behind, losing half a tenth or a tenth here and there.” “So it’s not like I’ve mastered it. I’ve just been a little ahead and it just flipped around for the ranking.” “I still trust the race pace. We know that is one of our strengths as a team. But I also know that my main competitor is the guy in front of me. We’ll see tonight.” “Of course, we always make the plan, but with the other side and with Oscar and everyone, it’s always a bit more complicated to beat that guy.” “But at the same time, it’s a long race. We’ll see what we can do.”The hardest type of overtake is usually your teammate, especially in a qualifying like today’s, where we were separated by a hundredth of a second. So yes, I think it will take some magic, a good strategy or incredible tire saving or something like that.
Lando Norris
