28 July 2023 19:48 (UTC)
"I think everybody probably feels like they had a bit more left but it’s a decent grid spot for Sunday"
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Friday, 28 July
Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
FP1 | 2m03.792s (+0.585s) | 4 laps | 2nd |
Q1 | 1m58.872s (Inters) | 6th | |
Q2 | 1m51.534s (Softs) | 1st | |
Q3 | 1m47.365s (Softs) | 6th |
“I’m reasonably happy with P6 in qualifying, though I think there was maybe a bit more left in Q3. We were really quick until that point. I think in the last session it really dried up a lot, and that was my first dry lap of Spa in an F1 car. I was kind-of hoping it would stay a bit wetter but overall, still not too bad. I think everybody probably feels like they had a bit more left but it’s a decent grid spot for Sunday and we’ll see what we can do from there.”
FP1 | 2m04.484s (+1.277s) | 4 laps | 3rd |
Q1 | 1m59.981s (Inters) | 15th | |
Q2 | 1m52.252s (Softs) | 5th | |
Q3 | 1m47.669s (Softs) | 7th |
“Tough session. Tricky in these conditions, as always. I went off at the start of Q1 when the track was wet and that punished us a lot because it damaged the floor a huge amount. The team did an incredible job to get the car back out for the end of Q1, and it was good to be able to get the most out of the car under the circumstances. Getting into Q2 and Q3 was already a positive thing after Q1. So, overall, not the best of days but I think we made the most of the situation and we have to take P7 for the starting position on Sunday.”
"It was a busy qualifying session with conditions that got drier and drier, requiring the team to constantly adapt run plans, and revise tyre choices.
"Oscar did a very good job to go with that, being quick in all sessions and precise with his driving, and he’ll start the race from a competitive P5. On Lando’s side, an off-track moment in the wet in Q1 caused significant damage to the floor. His mechanics did a fantastic job to patch it up and get him going again, even if car performance was degraded, and Lando managed to qualify in P7, which was a proper piece of damage limitation.
"We’ve got two McLarens up there for Sunday and hope to score decent points. But first, we have an interesting Saturday ahead."
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