Norris hails ‘job done’ with Sprint pole in Qatar as he bounces back from Las Vegas disappointment

Lando Norris expressed his satisfaction after charging to pole position for the Sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix, a few days on from rival Max Verstappen sealing the world title.

Norris mathematically fell out of championship contention at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit after finishing behind Verstappen, having emerged as the Dutchman’s main challenger this season.

But the McLaren driver came back with a bang in Lusail by topping Friday night’s Sprint Qualifying session over the Mercedes of George Russell and team mate Oscar Piastri.

Speaking about his decisive SQ3 lap afterwards, he said: “It’s tough because it’s so quick around here. It feels like the quickest circuit of the year. The final sector – you’re just hanging on, you know.

Sprint Qualifying Highlights: 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

“It’s a great qualifying today, especially to bounce back from where we were last time out in Vegas, it’s a nice thing to do – so [I’m] happy.

“It was a decent lap, I made too many mistakes on my second, but we were coming here to get pole and we did that so job done for today.”

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from Sprint Qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix

Heading into the Sprint, McLaren hold a 24-point advantage at the top of the constructors’ standings over Ferrari, who will start fourth and fifth with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc respectively.

With that in mind, Norris added: “I mean, I want to win – we want to win every session as drivers. Our target is a one-two; we want to maximise points for our constructors’ today. We want to go for it.

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - NOVEMBER 29: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 — Norris will start the Sprint race just ahead of Russell and team mate Piastri

“We know it’s going to be a battle, we know Mercedes will be quick, Ferrari will be fast, so not expecting an easy one. An exciting one for everyone watching so looking forward to it tomorrow.”

Piastri, meanwhile, described himself as “reasonably happy” with a second-row start, having been seen running off the road during the session and asking the McLaren mechanics to check for floor damage.

“It wasn’t the greatest lap of my life, but I think with these conditions it’s very tough and I’m pretty sure everybody will be saying that,” the Australian commented.

“I struggled a little bit at the start, but I felt like I was in the groove at the end – it’s just very fine margins. This track’s pretty mega to drive around; there’s a lot more grip this year than last year, so the high-speed sections are a lot of fun.”