Norris: McLaren’s small gap to Mercedes ‘a bit of a shock’

Lando Norris admits he is shocked by how close McLaren’s Q3 lap times were to Mercedes’ in Styria, as he was just half a tenth away from qualifying on the front row.

The three-time F1 podium finisher will start Sunday’s race from third on the grid, moving up one position due to Valtteri Bottas’ grid penalty.

Bottas, who was the leading Mercedes driver at the end of the session, was 0.086s faster than Norris at the end of Q3, with Lewis Hamilton just 0.053s ahead of the 21-year-old.

“I think we were expecting to be good and strong because we have been relatively decent all weekend – Daniel was very fast yesterday [in FP2], in P2 and stuff,” Norris said.

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“The car’s been good, and we always take a bit of a step into Q3. To be ahead of one of the Red Bulls, I would say [is] not expected, because they’ve been very fast from lap 1 here and miles ahead of us all weekend.

“It’s a similar story to Monaco or Baku or some tracks where we always looked way behind Mercedes or Red Bull, but as the fuel loads come down, I think everyone’s car becomes more equal and more competitive and yes, sometimes it can surprise you a little bit and we can be ahead of them.

”It’s nice to know and under a tenth of both the Mercedes, which is a bit of a shock, because I think I can just state a fact that they have more grip than us, and not that far behind. It’s weird to think of, but it’s a good position, so I’m happy.”

Norris took his first career podium finish at the Red Bull Ring last year – a result that he is hoping to replicate on Sunday.

“It’s a similar story to a couple of years ago when I was into P2 or P3 and we were mixed with the Red Bulls and the Mercedes guys, and if there’s an opportunity, 100% I’ll go for it,” Norris said. 

“I still need to pick and choose my competitors and my racers carefully and not kill the tyres and things like that. So, we’ll wait and see. 

“I think on paper, on Friday, they were quite a bit quicker than us – both the Mercedes and Red Bulls – so I’m not expecting to be super competitive against them.

“We still have a good chance to beat everyone else behind, so that’s the plan.”