Lando Norris: Max Verstappen Qatar F1 pole unsurprising as Red Bull hasn’t ‘had a bad race’

McLaren’s Lando Norris wasn’t shocked to see Max Verstappen on pole for the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix as he claimed Red Bull has “not really had a bad race the whole year.”

Verstappen recovered from sixth in Sprint Qualifying and eighth in the Sprint to take a surprise pole position for the Qatar GP.

Norris meanwhile, who was fastest on Friday night and deliberately conceded the Sprint victory to McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri could only qualify in third.

The McLaren driver felt his performance in Saturday’s qualifying was better than Friday’s, and just Red Bull showed its true pace.

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“My lap was probably just as good, if anything, a bit better than it was yesterday,” Norris said.

“I think to see Red Bull slow yesterday was a surprise. To see them quick today is not the surprise.

“They’ve not really had a bad race the whole year, but they’ve always been there or thereabouts.

“So to see them as far off as they were yesterday was a bit of a shock. To see them back where he is now is probably not the shock.”

Verstappen and Red Bull might dispute Norris’ claims, given they went on a 10-race winless run between the Spanish and Sao Paulo Grands Prix, which is far below their lofty standards.

McLaren losing time to rivals on Qatar main straight, says Norris

Norris made a mistake on his first run in the Q3 top-10 shootout, dipping a wheel into the gravel.

Then on his second run, he aborted his attempt due to running in dirty air and had to deliver on his third and final attempt.

Norris’ 1:20.772s effort was good enough for third but saw him concede 0.252s to Verstappen and 0.197s to second-placed George Russell.

The McLaren driver explained his deficiencies in straight-line speed cost him in qualifying.

“We’re losing a good amount in the straights comparing to the others,” Norris explained.

“It was close to a tenth to both George and Max before we even get to turn one.

“We hope to gain a little bit back in the high speed, but because it’s almost flat, we never got back almost what we were losing in the straights.

“So [we’re] possibly not in the perfect window of downforce.

“On a day like today, you could probably get away with taking some off because you kind of just get to that limit where you don’t gain anything more in the high speed.

“But hopefully tomorrow that falls back into our hands just a little bit.

“I don’t think I could have got a lot more out of it.”

READ MORE – Lando Norris: Sergio Perez Red Bull F1 woes a hindrance more than a help to Max Verstappen