Stella proud of Norris after 'best qualifying of the year'
Stella proud of Norris after 'best qualifying of the year'
SPIELBERG, Austria - McLaren team boss Andrea Stella said he was proud of Lando Norris's performance after the Briton took a dominant pole position in Austria in what he called his best qualifying of the year.
Norris led every phase, going fastest in Friday and Saturday practice, a decisive response to a poor qualifying in Canada and his collision with championship-leading teammate Oscar Piastri in that race two weeks ago.
That incident, which he accepted blame for, left Norris 22 points behind Piastri.
"Even in Canada, after reviewing the weekend with Lando and his engineers, we always said the speed was there," Stella told Sky Sports television.
"When he had the little contact with the wall in qualifying, he was on track for a pole position. And in the race, he was one of the fastest, if not the fastest car. The speed was always there. We needed to polish the execution.
"I'm really proud of Lando today. Not only he scored a pole position, but it's a dominant pole position, a pretty remarkable lap time."
Norris was more than half a second faster than his closest rival, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, on the shortest lap of the season.
The Briton said the upgraded car felt strong and quick.
Qualifying, a strong point last year, has become more of a problem this season, but Norris seemed to have rectified some of the issues.
"It was easily my best qualifying of the year from a delivery point of view from every single lap I did. I still made a couple of mistakes here and there, but none that cost me a lap or anything," he said.
"I think on deliveries, consistency and of course putting it in when it counts in Q3 (it) was easily the best lap I've done for this whole season, probably even better than Monaco, honestly.
"Maybe not as exciting a lap as Monaco, but definitely a better put-together lap than I did there."
Norris won from pole in Monaco, with the fastest lap, as he did in the Australian season-opener.
"It shows that 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," he said. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Ferrari boss Vasseur hands over to D'Ambrosio for Austrian GP
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 13, 2025 Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit ahead of the Australian Grand Prix REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo SPIELBERG, Austria - Ferrari Formula One boss Fred Vasseur has left the Austrian Grand Prix to return home for personal reasons with deputy Jerome d'Ambrosio taking over for Sunday's race at Spielberg, the team said. Ferrari had Charles Leclerc set to start on the front row alongside McLaren's pole-sitter Lando Norris and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth on the grid. The Italian team have yet to win this season and Frenchman Vasseur has come under increasing pressure with speculation about his future. Belgian D'Ambrosio is a former racer who joined Ferrari from Mercedes and has been deputy principal since last October. Before that he was also a team boss with Venturi in the all-electric Formula E series. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Stomach infection forces Carapaz out of Tour de France
Cycling - Giro d'Italia - Stage 21 - Rome to Rome - Italy - June 1, 2025 EF Education - EasyPost's Richard Carapaz celebrates on the podium after finishing third place in the Giro d'Italia REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, who finished third at the Giro d'Italia earlier this month, will miss the Tour de France, which starts next week, due to a stomach infection, his team EF Education-EasyPost said on Saturday. Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Carapaz, who won the mountains classification at last year's Tour de France, had abdominal pain and a high fever and was advised by doctors to avoid long-haul travel and competition, the team said in a statement. "It's with great sadness that I have to tell you that a gastrointestinal infection is forcing me to miss the Tour de France," Carapaz wrote on Instagram. "Not the best news, but health always comes first. Thank you all for your messages and support." Carapaz, 32, will take a few weeks off to recover before resuming his training with a focus on the Vuelta a Espana, which starts in August, his team added. The Tour de France will begin on July 5 in Lille and conclude on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 27. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Springboks centre Esterhuizen embraces hybrid role among the forwards
CAPE TOWN - The age of the hybrid rugby player may be nearer than many think as world champions South Africa continue to innovate, having intentionally used centre Andre Esterhuizen as a flank in Saturday's 54-7 win over the Barbarians in Cape Town. Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has spoken at length in the past about developing players for multiple positions, and used Deon Fourie in both the front and back row of the scrum in their Rugby World Cup win in France in 2023. However, playing a back in the forwards, not due to injury but as a plan that has been months in the making, could usher in a new era for South Africa as Erasmus seeks new ways to keep the four-time World Cup winners at the top of the global game. He floated the idea to Esterhuizen at the start of the year and it is something they have been working on since. "I was actually waiting for the conversation to happen, it has been brought up in the past," Esterhuizen, 31, told reporters. "As I get older, you learn how you can slot in everywhere, how you can get yourself into the team more constantly. "You have to adapt as a player. I said I'd like to try it and I'm looking forward to what it can be. It will help me as a player and obviously it can help the team as well. Hopefully we see more of it in the future." HYBRID PLAYERS Erasmus has long championed having players versatile enough to feature in several positions and believes it is an important factor in winning a World Cup. Not least because, in the Springboks' case, it allows more forwards among replacements to replenish their powerhouse pack and apply pressure on opponents for the full 80 minutes. Erasmus previously used loose-forward Kwagga Smith as cover on the wing, and says Esterhuizen's emergence as a forward option is simply the reverse of that plan. "I don't know if you can call him (Esterhuizen) a hybrid, but he is a backline player who can now also play in the forwards," he said. "If we get injuries, a guy like Andre just gives us an option, because he's been training with both the forwards and the backs." South Africa begin their international season with the first of two tests against Italy in Pretoria on Saturday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
