McLaren driver Lando Norris has admitted he gambled on completing an “all or nothing” final lap to bag pole position for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix Sprint race.
Despite McLaren expecting the characteristics of the Shanghai track to result in a “damage limitation” race weekend, Norris was competitive throughout each session.
A rain shower during the closing stages in SQ2 triggered a wet final segment that Norris capitalised on to storm to top spot with a 1.2-second gap over Lewis Hamilton.
The Briton had his initial best lap deleted for running wide at the final corner, which prompted his later pole effort to then also be eradicated until it was later reinstated.
“It was (wild),” Norris said. “I’m extremely happy first of all, so big thanks to the whole team.
“It was tricky, you’re always nervous going into a session like this, especially before qualifying when you almost know it’s going to rain.
“And I was quite happy with how it was in the dry, I think we’ve had good pace all weekend so far, so I got a bit nervous.
“They were conditions where you’ve just got to risk a lot, you’ve just got to push, build tyre temperature and so forth.
“I was quick, I just kept catching the Ferrari so I had to keep backing off! So I didn’t do the first two laps well at all, but I got a good final one, good enough for pole so I’m happy.
“Sad it’s not for a proper qualifying, but good enough.”
Norris conceded that he was anxious that his chances of a strong result had slipped when he had elected to abandon his previous laps as the precipitation got worse.
“You only have three laps, the first two I aborted on both so the last lap was all or nothing,” he reflected.
“But it was getting wetter and wetter so actually the conditions on the final two laps were a lot worse than the second lap at least.
“So I was a little bit nervous that I made a few mistakes, started to aquaplane quite a bit, but it’s good fun. It gets your heart going, and to end up on top is exactly what we wanted.
“So a nice surprise and a good position for tomorrow.”
Norris will start from the front of the grid in a Sprint for the second time tomorrow and is confident in McLaren’s pace regardless of the weather conditions present.
Asked to predict what happens tomorrow, Norris replied: “Not a clue! But we did some of our homework this morning, we did some consecutive laps to try and understand.
“But it depends what the weather is, there’s still a chance of rain tomorrow so if it’s like this then I think the chances are relatively decent.
“But the race is still very different to qualifying so I’m sure everyone is going to catch up a bit tomorrow. But the pace is good whether it’s wet or dry and I think we’re in a good position.
“So a bit of a surprise like I said, but I’m very happy. The team did a good job, the car’s feeling good and so am I. And it’s paying off.”
