Norris' lap compromised: Championship leader acknowledges mistake

Since the Mexico City Grand Prix, the British driver has claimed pole position in every single session, including Sprint Qualifying at Interlagos.

That streak has now ended in Qatar, as his teammate Oscar Piastri topped Friday's SQ3. Norris will start the Sprint from P3, after George Russell separated the two McLarens on Friday.

Over the team radio, the championship leader said after he was told he finished third: "Yeah. All good. It’s our own fault for going out too late."

Norris' race engineer, Will Joseph, however said to his driver: "You let Albon through mate!"

Norris then concluded: "Yeah, no, you’re good. My bad. My fault.”

After the session, talking to F1 TV, the Briton also addressed the incident. He explained: "Yeah, [it compromised my lap]. That's life."

Norris also made a different mistake on his final lap, running wide in the final corner. Looking ahead, he explained he doesn't expect overtakes to happen during the Sprint.

The British driver currently leads Piastri and Max Verstappen by 24 points in the drivers' standings. Over the course of the entire Qatar Grand Prix, he has to outscore both of his rivals by two points to be crowned champion already this weekend.

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