Norris singles out ‘the one person he wants to be ahead of’ after missing pole

Speaking to GPblog after the qualifying session, the McLaren driver expressed his disappointment at missing out on pole position.

“Q1 and Q2 weren’t the smoothest. My Q3 laps, I was pretty happy with, honestly. I felt pretty good and like I got a lot out of the car today, which wasn’t enough, so I was disappointed because you just want to be on pole for the final race of the year,” he said.

Norris added that McLaren simply didn’t have the pace to match Verstappen, which made finishing behind the Dutch driver particularly disappointing.

“But we just didn’t have the pace today, so I felt like I got the maximum out of the car, and I have to be happy with that. Of course, being behind the one person I want to be ahead of is the only reason for the disappointment. Otherwise, I was pretty happy with my laps, and it was the maximum we could do,” he concluded.

Norris clocked a lap time of 1:22.408, over two-tenths behind Verstappen, who stormed to pole position at the Yas Marina Circuit. The British driver is followed closely by teammate Oscar Piastri, who was only quick enough for third place in the session.

Earlier, Verstappen revealed the crucial strategy of the Red Bull Racing outfit that helped him claim pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The four-time world champion also revealed the key strategies that boosted his confidence during the crunch session.

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