Norris disappointed: 'Could have easily fought for pole position'

It was a disastrous qualifying session for Lando Norris at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. During Q1 and Q2, the Brit was the fastest man on track, but at the start of Q3 things went wrong. At the top of the Raidillon, he hit the barrier. End of session for Norris.

Fortunately, the driver was unharmed and can race today, but he will have to take a five-place grid penalty because of the gearbox change.

“Everything was going extremely well," Norris told Motorsport.com. "Since the first lap in Q1 things were going perfectly, and the car was feeling hooked up, I felt confident with the car. I guess it was tricky going out in Q3 because even on the out lap, I was saying how wet it was and saying it should be should be stopped or something, because I was aquaplaning quite a bit.

“So it was just a difficult situation to be in: how much do you want to push, how much do you not? I think it's combination of pushing a bit too much for the weather at that point, aquaplaning a little bit in the middle of Eau Rouge, which obviously doesn't end too well, and ends up being the way it was in the end," the McLaren driver explained.

Pole position was possible

It was a big disappointment for the team, as Norris was clearly the fastest man on the track. "Of course, I feel bad because things were going very well, the car was on fire, and Q1 and Q2 were extremely good. I think I could have quite easily fought for pole position. I've now given the team a lot of work to do and probably a very late night, but not a lot I can do now.”