01/07/2023
NEWS STORY
So far, so good says Lando Norris as first phase of McLaren's much-anticipated upgrade package sees him grab fourth on the grid for Sunday.
While the package won't be available to teammate Oscar Piastri until next weekend at Silverstone, the Australian will be buoyed by what Norris was able to achieve in qualifying.
Indeed, though he lines up fourth on the grid on Sunday, Norris believes third was within reach.
"As soon as we put the car down, things were working I think as they were meant to be, which is always a good sign," he said of the upgrade, which includes a new floor, floor edges, sidepods, engine cover and diffuser.
"I'm super happy with P4," he grinned, "it was one of the best qualifying sessions of the season. I had a lot of confidence and was chipping away through qualifying, so I'm happy.
"I have to say a big thanks to the team for getting all the new bits here," he added, "because we wouldn't be P4 if we didn't have that. I'm super happy and it's a good one for the team.
"The team did an awesome job on getting the upgrades ready for this race and they did a great job today to get us there."
Referring to his final lap, he said: "I could've had a little bit more as I made a small mistake in the last corner, which likely cost me P3, so I am a little bit frustrated. But at the same time, I'm taking a P4 every day.
"I guess as a driver, if you don't put the perfect lap together when it could have been something that little bit more, which would be a P3, you just wish you could put it together.
"It's just I messed up my lap a bit," he admitted. "I should have had Carlos, but it's just a should have. I'm still very happy: P4 is still very good for us, especially for a main qualifying.
"It was good fun," he laughed. "Tricky, because basically every single corner you can get a track limits penalty. Every corner you want to push more, but you have to be so careful at the same time.
"But the car has been working very well, I'm very happy. I really am. I'm happy, we're in a good position for Sunday and we'll try to do the same again tomorrow."
Check out our Friday gallery from the Red Bull Ring here.