Norris battles nasty conditions: "I was nervous"
F1 News
Lando Norris survived terrible conditions and came out fastest to qualify on pole for Saturday's sprint race in China. The McLaren driver initially had his lap time deleted, but the stewards reinstated his time. He admitted he was "nervous" ahead of the session as he followed the forecast closely.
Why Norris was nervous ahead of sprint qualifying
It was clear that rain was forecast during the week before the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. Norris also saw this and knew he would have to tip-toe around the Shanghai International Circuit.
"It was [wild]," Norris said in his first reaction to the pole position. "I am happy. It was tricky, and I was nervous going into a session like this because I knew it would rain. Plus I was happy with how we were in the dry. I got nervous, but you have to risk a lot in these conditions. I had to keep backing off because I was catching the Ferrari. My first two laps were not good, but I got a good final one for pole. I'm sad it's not for a proper qualifying," Norris added.
Norris and the rest of the F1 drivers have completed just 60 minutes of free practice, which was shortened slightly due to a brief red flag. Therefore, Norris goes into tomorrow's sprint and Grand Prix qualifying with many unknowns but is hoping for certain conditions.
"Not a clue [about tomorrow]. We did some hard work this morning and some consecutive laps. Still a chance of rain tomorrow, if it's like this then chances are decent. The pace is good, whether it's wet or dry. A surprise, but the team did a good job. The car is feeling good," Norris concluded.