“What? Still?”: Lando Norris Could Not Believe McLaren’s Ability To Secure Impressive P3 in Spanish GP

Lando Norris went beyond all expectations to snatch a fascinating P3 in the Spanish Grand Prix qualification. The British driver not only surprised the fans and experts alike but also could not believe the feat himself.

In the qualifying sessions full of surprises such as Charles Leclerc’s Q1 exit and Sergio Perez and George Russell’s Q2 exit, Norris came out as the star boy alongside Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.

Putting his McLaren alongside the mighty Red Bull RB-19 and Ferrari SF-23 speaks volumes of the advancement the British team has done with Norris executing it perfectly.

The 23-year-old has been impressive throughout the Spanish Grand Prix weekend so far. The Briton was in P2 both in Q1 and Q2 but failed to continue that in Q3. But Norris did secure the P3 while being 0.058 seconds slower than Sainz.

Lando Norris could not believe the impressive finish

As the young British driver clocked an impressive time of 1:12.792, which was 0.520 seconds slower than pole-sitter Verstappen, he could not believe his own efforts.

After the qualifying sessions were over, Norris’ race engineer William Joseph confirmed the position on the radio. Hearing this, the McLaren star said, “Ah, what? Still?”

Lando Norris’ radio after reaching P3 in Quali is the radio of the year #Formula1 #F1 #SpanishGP #Qualifying pic.twitter.com/VadwgaMJ96

— REVERSALxF1 (@REVERSALxF1) June 3, 2023

Once Joseph cleared the air, the young British driver quipped, “Yeah, interesting. Let’s go, baby.” Following this, Norris went on to praise his engineer in a happy mood.

Lando Norris conveyed, “You’re the best race engineer ever. The best performance engineer ever.” Norris’ new teammate finished the Q3 in P10, giving McLaren the hope of double points finish.

Norris on his P3 performance

The 23-year-old opened up on his surprising P3 finish in the post-qualification interview. When asked about it, Norris said, “I’m surprised to be here. Amazing job. P3, almost P2.”

“It’s a home race for Carlos, so I thought I’d give him a couple of tenths. I’m very happy. To be in P3 was quite nice. The whole of qualifying we were quite quick, so all good,” further asserted the McLaren star.

Lando Norris then added, “It was a difficult qualifying, but always in these conditions we seem to do well. It seemed to suit me.” Admittedly, bringing the arguably seventh-fastest car in P3 shows the talents he has on a good day.

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