Lando Norris raised the emotions of his title-chasing McLaren team on Friday by qualifying first ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell for Saturday’s sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix. After a dismal effort in Las Vegas, where his drivers’ title ambitions were dashed as Max Verstappen won his fourth championship with Red Bull, the British driver returned to top form under the fluorescent lights at the Lusail International Circuit. Norris scored the fastest time of one minute and 21.012 seconds, surpassing Nevada’s winner Russell by just 0.063 seconds at the end of a fiercely contested session. Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren finished third.
“It’s tough,” Norris remarked of his lap times and the track’s pace. “It moves so quickly around here. It feels like the fastest of the year, and in the final sector, you feel like you’re just hanging on. Our objective for tomorrow is a one-two to maximize points for our constructors, but we know Mercedes and Ferrari will be quick.”
The Ferraris of Sanchez and Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and fifth, ahead of Verstappen and seven-time winner Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes, but the result was insufficient to boost expectations that the Italian team may prevent McLaren from winning their first constructors’ championship in 26 years. Pierre Gasly finished seventh for Alpine, ahead of Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson.
McLaren leads the teams’ title battle by 24 points, with 608 to Ferrari’s 584. With two Grands Prix remaining, one of which is a sprint, McLaren can secure the title by outperforming Ferrari in both the sprint and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
In lowering circumstances with temperatures of 19 (air) and 22 (track) dropping as darkness fell, Kevin Magnussen set the early benchmark time for Haas in 1:23.750 and the ‘big boys’ joined the race, with Sainz quickly taking the lead.