Lando Norris: “We improved significantly from FP3 to qualifying”

Lando Norris was satisfied with the result of qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, with the McLaren F1 team Driver is happy about starting position six Losail International Circuit.

Believing McLaren to make good progress with the car between Saturday afternoon’s final practice session and qualifying under floodlights, Norris rewarded the team with a third row spot off the grid Fernando Alonso.

The only downside for Norris was the fact that he made it into Q3 on the soft compound tire but he will try to make the most of it to get good points for the team and hopefully help close the gap conclude Scuderia Ferrari in the constructors championship.

“Very happy with today,” said Norris. “We improved a lot from FP3 to qualifying and didn’t expect P6.

“I’m definitely happy with that, especially because it wasn’t an easy P6, but it was probably one of the best laps I’ve driven in qualifying for a long time. I am satisfied with my work and also with what we have achieved as a team. That helped us today. So all in all a positive day.

“We didn’t get away with the medium tire, which is the only downside – it will make our life a little more difficult tomorrow than we want it to be, but we still have a good chance of scoring solid points.”

“I just struggled to find the last few tenths” – Daniel Ricciardo

Teammate Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in the second quarter, with the Australian admitting that he was struggling to find the few extra tenths of a second Norris was able to get out of the car.

Ricciardo will start in fourteenth after failing to find enough speed in his MCL35M to make it into the top ten and felt like he could win time on one corner and lose it on the next.

“Obviously not a great session in terms of position,” said Ricciardo. “I would have liked to have been more competitive, but I just struggled to find the last tenths.

“It felt like I was winning a little here, but losing in the next part of the corner. I stalled a bit where I could improve. So, some more things to see and do and see where the time is.

“I think it’s just a little bit everywhere. No big mistakes or mistakes, just the extra half-tenth is missing in some corners. We’ll try to do something from there tomorrow. We have a choice of strategy, but of course we are still a long way from it. Let’s see what we can think of tonight. “

Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in Q2 in Qatar – Photo credit: McLaren F1 Team