A champion’s lap
Neither Mercedes nor Ferrari: the very first pole position ever on the Madring track belongs to Lando Norris, who surprised everyone in the final phase of Q3, beating Kimi Antonelli by 11 thousandths and taking his third pole position in the last four races. An even more remarkable result considering that yesterday Norris did not run even a minute of FP2 due to a gearbox problem. Moreover, data analysis shows how the Englishman could have done even better, since in his best lap he lost a couple of tenths in the last corner. The extraordinary lap of the reigning world champion also surprised… Norris himself, who in the traditional post-qualifying interviews struggled to realize what he had done.
“I’m shocked, I’m a bit surprised to find myself here now – said Norris speaking with David Coulthard in the classic interview reserved for the top three on the grid – my God, it was one of the best laps I’ve ever done in my entire career. I’m very happy. I had clear ideas about what I wanted to do, the only unknown was whether my mind would allow me. This is one of those laps where at the end you look at the lap time and say: ‘Oh, sh**, that was fantastic’“.
“The adrenaline was sky-high on the last lap – added the first ever poleman of the Madring – you have to relax and let go. The car was good, so I felt comfortable on track. It was practically all perfect, except for the last corner: I thought I was going to hit the wall and that the guys would have to repair the car tonight but instead…It was one of those moments when you are in a total flow state“.
Read more Bezzecchi: “Marquez was better than me, but I am happy: it is my best result in Sprint this year”
