Dutch Grand Prix: Lando Norris Expects Challenge for Victory at Zandvoort – BBC Sport
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Norris Expects Challenge After Back-to-Back Poles
By Andrew Benson, F1 Correspondent in Zandvoort
Published 14 minutes ago
Lando Norris starts the first grand prix after Formula 1’s summer break in the same place as he started the one before it – on pole. But the McLaren driver does not expect the Dutch Grand Prix to end with the comfortable victory he enjoyed in Hungary a month ago.
Lessons from Sprint Race
The lessons of the sprint race earlier on Saturday make Norris cautious heading into Sunday’s race at Zandvoort. He started second to Mercedes’ George Russell for the sprint, a reverse of their places on the grand prix grid. But Russell took a comfortable win while Norris fell behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the closing stages.
"I’m not thinking of tomorrow," he said, "just thinking: I’m on pole. Let me enjoy it. I will do my preparation tonight, prepare well, learn as much as we can from this morning, see what we can do better."
Exploiting Pace Advantage
Norris took pole with a lap right on the ragged edge. "We could have been on pole yesterday," he said. "The sprint race disappointed me quite a bit because of our pace…"
He continued:
- "I knew we would be a little better come qualifying… My final two laps I put things together a lot more."
- "My final lap was not the cleanest or best lap I’ve ever done but I committed a lot more in my braking and took a lot more risks in the high-speed corners."
- "It was a lap that was a lot more uncomfortable… hustling and sliding a lot more, reacting a lot more to the car…"
Balancing Speed and Tire Management
Norris’ problem is that, in the race, an advantage in the high-speed corners cannot be exploited as much as on fresh tyres on one lap in qualifying. In races, F1 drivers often have to back off in the high-speed corners to avoid putting too much heat in the rubber.
"I’ll see what compromises I can make between high and low speed," Norris said, "see how we can make our weaknesses not as much as a struggle… We just need to work hard… It’s possible. But I am not expecting a race like Budapest. I am expecting a challenge."
