Photo credit: McLaren Racing
Starting in P4, with the gap to Verstappen’s sprint pole time just a mere 10th of a second, Lando Norris was hoping to make up positions during the sprint and continue his team’s excellent run of form.
The fast starting Ferrari of Carlos Sainz passed Norris at the start into turn 12with the aid of his soft tyres. But by lap 10 the softs on the Ferrari were starting to degrade and Norris pulled off a relatively easy move on Sainz. The Brit hunted down Leclerc but narrowly missed out on a podium finish, pushing the Monegasque all the way to the line.
Norris spoke after the sprint how he was happy with the pace they showed which is a positive sign going into the main race.
“Good, happy, the pace was strong. I struggled to get past the Ferrari in the beginning, but not many people did pass him. So, yeah, it was a tough, a difficult beginning. But the pace was good, so that’s a positive sign for tomorrow.”
Norris who starts in P2 for the main race, spoke about how he is wary of the pace of Mercedes in the hands of Lewis Hamilton but is looking forward to a good race with the Brackley-based team.
“Yeah, I mean, like I said, the pace was good. It’s been good all weekend, so it’s not a surprise. But Mercedes are quick, our pace is good, but it’s not convincing enough. We still have some more work to do, but it’s going to be a good race, hopefully, with Mercedes tomorrow.”
With the Red Bull of Max Verstappen starting out of position in P6, everything is to play for in the main race later today. Should everything go normally, McLaren will overtake Aston Martin for P4 in the Constructors’ Championship.
