Lando Norris admits that he was not at his best during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Briton drove to the fifth fastest time in Suzuka, but sees teammate Oscar Piastri in third place ahead of him. Due to a difficult preparation, Norris states that he has been playing catch-up all weekend. “I’ve been playing catch-up all weekend,” said Norris.
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Lando Norris starts the race in Japan from fifth position, but emphasizes that he mainly lost a lot of track time on Friday compared to Oscar Piastri. Due to a hydraulic leak and the replacement of the electric motor, the reigning world champion was able to drive fewer kilometers than planned, which he says had a direct influence on his preparation. “It’s a new car, new asphalt and a faster circuit, so you have to adjust your driving style. Not driving certainly costs more now than before,” Norris told the paddock in Suzuka.
‘It could have been worse’
Norris does look back on a qualifying session where he began to understand the car better and better, but he still sees points for improvement. “I am satisfied with fifth place, but the gap to the drivers in front of me is still quite large. So I am not completely satisfied,” said the Briton. “I don’t feel like I was in top form and got everything out of it. In my last lap I made a few mistakes and nowadays that is punished more quickly. I was close to Charles (Leclerc, ed.) and that small gap hurts. It could have been better, but certainly worse too.”
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The reigning world champion indicates that he is mainly behind because of the problems he has had since Friday. “I tried different things with the setup and started to understand the car better and better. It’s small details. I’ve been playing catch-up all weekend. I haven’t been able to do any long runs and have driven little with high fuel. I haven’t had any luck so far.”
‘Have patience’
Still, Norris remains optimistic for the rest of the season. He looks back with Sky Sports F1 at the 2024 season, in which McLaren was many points behind at the start of the season. Eventually, they still left Abu Dhabi as constructors’ champions. “We are now focusing on the podium and then on victories. The points will come naturally. We won the last two championships and last year the drivers’ championship because we were able to develop the best car. I have every confidence that we can do that again this year, it just takes time. We have to be patient,” the 26-year-old Briton concluded.
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