McLaren team principal Stella proud: 'Norris stood out from the rest'

"Congratulations to Lando in particular, because in these conditions it was very much a driver's job to be done, and he did it, so well done to Lando," Stella said shortly after the end of the first sprint qualifying session of this season.

Norris' lap time getting deleted then reinstated

For a moment, it looked like Norris and McLaren's party would go up in smoke. The young Briton initially saw his pole time removed due to exceeding track limits, but got it back not much later. The team boss breathed a sigh of relief when the lap time was reinstated. "Of course, we can enjoy a pole position which, like I say, is deserved by Lando and also I hope everyone at McLaren can enjoy this day."

Norris' teammate, Oscar Piastri, came no further than eighth place. But the revelry was no less. "Oscar also had an issue unfortunately coming out of the hairpin, because of the wheel spin. Apparently, he lost a lot of time, otherwise, we could have had two drivers' in good positions on the grid for the sprint, but overall, a good session for us, and we are happy," Stella concludes.