Norris says Austria pole lap 'close to perfection'
Venue: Red Bull Ring, Spielberg Date: 29 June Race start: 14:00 BST
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
Lando Norris said he felt like he was back to the form he had missing for much of this season after taking a stunning pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver's season has been hampered by repeated mistakes in qualifying, but he headed the field by more than half a second on one of the shortest laps of the year at the Red Bull Ring.
Briton Norris said his pole lap was "as close to perfection as I would probably ask for".
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start alongside Norris with McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri in third.
"It's nice to see the old me back every now and then," Norris said.
"It's more just the feeling I had today was a feeling I've missed for quite a long time, the feeling I have behind the wheel with the car, the understanding where the grip is and how to exploit it.
"That showed in performance and then lap time is a very good combination to have. That when you feel like you can go quicker here and you go out and do it, that's the best feeling a driver can ask for, really."
Norris takes Austria pole with sensational lap
Ferrari qualifying 'fantastic result' - Hamilton
How to follow Austrian Grand Prix on the BBC
Norris has felt this year that a lack of feeling from the front axle of the car has been provoking mistakes when he has tried to push to the absolute limit in qualifying.
At the last race in Canada, McLaren introduced a revision to the front suspension to reduce what the team have described as a "numbness". Norris has continued with that part in Austria but Piastri feels he does not need it.
That added to aerodynamics upgrades to the car to the front wing and suspension introduced in Austria led to the largest margin any pole winner has had in percentage terms all season.
Norris said: "To come into this weekend and at least move in the right direction was very positive and very reassuring for myself most of all but probably for us as a team as well, so a big thanks to them.
"The feelings I've been requiring, the feelings that I've not been getting as easily, when they are more my way and more where I want them to be, I can put in better performances and have days like today."
Norris is 22 points behind Piastri in the championship, a margin partially created by him crashing out of the race in Canada after running into the back of the Australian.
As a result, he needs a strong result in Austria on Sunday to reduce Piastri's lead.
Norris said that his session on Saturday was "easily my best qualifying of the year from a delivery point of view".
But he added: "It's very satisfying, but, again, it's about consistency. Everyone can be a hero in one weekend. It's progress. It's steps forward. I'm very happy with today, but it's still a long journey. It's a long season. The job I needed to do today, I did. And it doesn't make up for the last few weekends or anything, but I did it today, and that's what mattered."
'Basically everything felt bad' - Verstappen
Red Bull's Max Verstappen is the McLaren drivers' closest challenger in the championship, in third place, 21 points behind Norris.
But the Dutchman had a difficult day, qualifying only seventh.
Verstappen was unable to complete his final lap as Pierre Gasly spun his Alpine through 720 degrees at the final corner in front of him, but had managed only sixth fastest time on his first lap.
The Dutchman said Red Bull had been caught by surprise by the lack of grip in their car
"In qualifying basically everything felt bad," Verstappen said. "Every corner was a struggle, I just didn't have the balance. It was either understeer or oversteer. Even every single lap that I did I had a little bit different behaviour with the car. So yeah, that's not ideal.
"I didn't expect it to be this bad in qualifying, but I think no one did in the team. So, that's something that we have to analyse."
But Norris and Piastri both said they would not rule out Verstappen coming into contention in the race.
"Until he's out of the race, I don't think we're ever going to take Max out of the equation," Norris said.
Verstappen, Russell and Mercedes - what factors are at play?
Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying Review
Andrew Benson Q&A: Send us your questions
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why F1 may benefit from Mohammed Ben Sulayem's V8 push
It was on the morning of the glitzy season launch at London's O2 Arena in February when Formula 1 lost its collective head. There, it's said, during an F1 Commission meeting, Christian Horner – Red Bull's then team principal – set his smartphone in the middle of the table. 'Bring back V10s' hissed the voice at the other end of the line: former F1 'ringmaster' Bernie Ecclestone. And, lo, the herd began its charge in that direction, only to crash upon the indifference of F1's engine manufacturers during a crunch meeting ahead of the Bahrain GP. But FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, one of those who got rather ahead of themselves on that chilly February day in London, still believes in the principle of a return to natural aspiration and set out his stall during a media briefing ahead of the British GP in July. The new plan accommodates reservations expressed by the majority of the engine manufacturers during the Bahrain summit: that V10s were unsuitable on many levels, not least the road-relevance front; and some form of electrification would have to be included to provide synergies with road car technologies. It's a debate which has been raging between paddock insiders for many years: should F1 slavishly mirror road car trends or should it adopt a so-called 'set controls for the heart of the sun' policy, focusing completely on noise and power even if it alienates the manufacturers? Many purists espouse the latter but acknowledge the many practical problems, such as what would happen to the manufacturer-based teams and who would actually build the engines. V8s, as now espoused by Ben Sulayem, are more acceptable to the manufacturers since many of them still have engines of that configuration somewhere in the range. At the same time the idea of internal combustion is undergoing something of a renaissance, owing to new technologies and developments in the global trading picture. A Ford DFV V8 engine in the back of a Brabham BT49 For a long time the direction of travel in the car industry has been towards full electrification, pushed by government legislation. But a significant proportion of consumers remain resistant, viewing electric cars as too expensive (and, of course, there are those who fear their genitals may fall off if they are seen driving anything other than a car with a loud, noisy and powerful internal combustion engine). Faced with this and an influx of cheaper, state-subsidised vehicles exported from China, the western car industry is beginning to panic. Former Renault Group boss Luca de Meo admitted as much before he quit. So there is still room for the internal combustion engine, provided the new generation of synthetic fuels can be produced at scale for a reasonable cost. Assuming F1 did return to a V8 engine format, there would be details to work out regarding size and the proportion of electrification. Next year the split will be 50:50 but this has proved controversial, and the technical formula has had to be adapted to embrace adaptive aerodynamic devices to mitigate potential power shortfalls on the straights. It's understood that the solution envisioned by the FIA is to move to an 80:20 ratio in favour of the ICU, or even 90:10. The new format would be introduced when the 2026 technical package has run its course, most likely 2030, though the president has suggested it could be earlier. "We need to do it soon,' he said at Silverstone. 'You need three years, so hopefully by 2029 we have something there.' 2026 Formula 1 rules Ben Sulayem has also talked about achieving radical cost savings by standardising components including the gearbox and the hybrid system. Former president Max Mosley tried to drive through something along these lines at the end of 2008, during the global financial crisis, running a tender process for a homologated drivetrain (ultimately won by Cosworth and Hewland). An additional wrinkle of the plan was to open up new grid spots and have those teams using the standard powertrain effectively running in a championship tier of their own, with a budget cap. But that idea was ultimately too complicated and lost impetus when Mosley stood down. Jean Todt, the next president, let it die entirely. There is an argument to say gearboxes are expensive to design, develop and build, and are no longer performance differentiators, so having a standardised component isn't necessarily a negative. There may be grumblings about whoever wins the putative tender but F1 has been here before, when McLaren Applied Technologies won the contract to supply the whole grid with homologated Engine Control Units. Fears of inequality and skulduggery proved unfounded. Standardised hybrid components may be more difficult for the engine manufacturers to digest – but, equally, this is also an 'invisible' system so far as the audience is concerned and if it can be made less expensive, it will find support. The FIA's position is that cost saving remains one of the most important factors even at a time when F1 is thriving commercially – because that situation could change at any time based on geopolitics and the global economy. 'As the FIA we are the moderators during the discussion of the regulations, mindful to contain costs and create a level playing field for all,' FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis told earlier this year. 'There is some strong resistance at times, as you would expect, from teams or PU manufacturers protecting their interests or investment. Cost-cutting and level of technological freedom are at loggerheads with each other. It is not easy to have both. 'The PU manufacturers came [to discussion regarding the 2026 regulations] with many proposals for cost-cutting on a number of items relating to the engine. They centred on simplification, eliminating certain materials, processes and technologies. 'The amount of cost-cutting we've achieved is not as much as we would all have liked. While we are in a very healthy position as a sport, financially and in terms of popularity, we should never be complacent about that: cost-cutting should always have a high priority.' The Formula One Championship-winning Power Units: Mercedes-AMG F1 M09 EQ Power+ (2018), Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+ (2017), Mercedes-Benz PU106C Hybrid (2016), Mercedes-Benz PU106B Hybrid (2015), Mercedes-Benz PU106A Hybrid (2014) 'Many of the manufacturers produce V8s in their cars, so commercially it's correct,' said Ben Sulayem at Silverstone. 'How much is it? The target is more than 50 percent [cheaper] in everything.' This could be achieved not just through standardising parts but also mandating cheaper materials. It's known, for instance, that the FIA wanted to move to aluminium pistons but the engine manufacturers, having initially supported the idea, U-turned en masse. Another issue F1 faces in its drive towards 'net zero' is the cost of the fully sustainable fuel which will be mandatory next year, said to be in the region of $275-$300 per litre. This reflects both the R&D investment which has had to go into developing these fuels and the energy-intensive means of production. As yet there is no solution to the problem of producing at scale and to a reasonable cost. Since all the teams have commercial fuel-and-lubes supply deals, the question of who actually absorbs those costs is tricky to unpick – and likely to differ depending on how individual deals are structured. Which is why another of Ben Sulayem's proposals is likely to face resistance: a single fuel supplier. What goes in the tank is less of a performance differentiator than it used to be – a chemical composition close to pump fuel is now prescribed, as is a sustainable element – but fuel brands still rely on performance for their storytelling. Shell, for instance, has built the identity of its VPower blend around its partnership with Ferrari. Would the story survive if the Ferrari were to become a mere mobile billboard for the likes of Shell, while the go-juice sloshing around inside had a rather different provenance? Perhaps – after all, we live in an age of profound superficiality. Ultimately if costs can be reduced as much as the president would like, the grid as a whole will benefit – and few will care whether you have a tiger in your tank or not. Read Also: Why F1 drivers don't like Pirelli's wet tyres, and how it plans to fix them To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
RBC Raises Ferrari (RACE) Price Target, Maintains Buy Rating
Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE) is one of the most profitable consumer stocks to buy now. RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan raised his price target on Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE) to $581.42 from $569.79 while reiterating a Buy rating on the stock, citing strong brand strength and continued demand resilience in the luxury auto segment. The revision, though modest, reflects confidence in Ferrari's positioning as a premium automaker with pricing power and a loyal global customer base. Photo by M on Unsplash At the current market price of $507.70, the new target implies an upside potential of nearly 14.5%. RBC's update comes amid growing investor interest in high-end consumer goods, particularly brands that have shown the ability to grow margins despite a complex macro backdrop. Narayan noted that Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE) continues to benefit from limited supply, robust order books, and a steady shift toward hybrid and future EV models, all without sacrificing its exclusivity. Ferrari's recent financial performance has backed up the bullish outlook. The company has consistently delivered solid earnings, supported by strong ASPs (average selling prices) and disciplined cost management. Expansion plans, including a new plant in Maranello focused on electric vehicles, are seen as long-term growth drivers. With shares already up sharply over the past year, investors are now looking to upcoming quarterly results for evidence that Ferrari can maintain its momentum and justify its premium valuation as it races toward an increasingly electrified future. While we acknowledge the potential of YUM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best High-Margin Pharma Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Best Industrial Automation Stocks to Buy for the Next Decade Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bruno Guimarães, Dan Burn and Isak go rafting in Austria
Watch Newcastle United's squad go rafting in Austria as part of a fun team bonding session during their training camp.
