Lando Norris in the paddock - Photo: Race Pictures

Norris to challenge Ferrari's quick straight-line speed in Mexico GP

12:18, 26 Oct

byShayni Solanki

Lando Norris secured a redemptive pole position after a recent drought at the Mexico Grand Prix, set to start ahead of the Ferrari duo and hopes to overcome the Prancing Horses' 'straight-line speed.'

Norris seems to be confident ahead of the Mexico Grand Prix, looking to overtake his teammate Oscar Piastri at the top of the Drivers' Standings.

However, the Briton shared that he is slightly concerned for the longer run at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez as Ferrari possesses a strong straight-line speed.

Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren celebrates his pole position in qualifying parc ferme with second placed Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari - Photo: Race Pictures

"I thought if I got ahead of Charles, I'd be pretty happy."

- Lando Norris

It was a close call in qualifying between Norris' McLaren and the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who secured P2 and P3 starting positions respectively.

Leclerc started the weekend off with the upper hand, going fastest in FP1 before slotting in right behind Norris for the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Norris told the media in the post-qualifying press conference: "The car is incredibly quick, but it's not easy to drive. I think we both complained of that as drivers, but when you just get in that little bit of a rhythm, it's flying, and that’s where I was today.

"Tonight, with my engineers and my team around me to review things, see what’s best. Of course, you want a good start and go from there. But it’s a long run.

"I don’t know what our straight-line speed is like compared to the Ferrari. In general, I think we’ve had a touchdown, so we’ll wait and see.

"It's tough because I do feel like I’m doing a very good job. I feel like I have been for a good amount of weekends now, especially when I get this feeling that I had today."

"Q1, Q2, Q3 — all of my laps were good. No mistakes. No lock-ups. None of these things. And I could just, in a good way, improve."

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The Briton has fallen under pressure from Max Verstappen as the Dutchman has ramped up his hunt for his fifth consecutive championship lately, winning three of the last four races.

Verstappen, however, has failed to put the pressure on McLaren so far this weekend as Norris put in a perfect lap to claim a dominant pole position while Verstappen is set to start in fifth place.

Norris continued: "I mean, obviously it was an incredible lap. I pushed the braking everywhere. I pushed the high speed a bit more and all those things.

"There were a couple of little places where I thought I messed up a touch and didn't get the best exits, like out of six, but the rest of it felt pretty decent. I was happy, but I thought I'd be more like a 15.9, 15.8.

"I thought if I got ahead of Charles, I'd be pretty happy. So when I saw 15.5 on my dash, it put a pretty big smile on my face because it was one of those laps where everything just came together in terms of feeling.

"It was very natural and similar to my lap in Monaco. A good feeling because it's been a while. It's not that often this year I get that feeling in this car, even with how quick it is. But yeah, happy because of this."

Norris holds the upper hand over his teammate, who had a tricky session and will start in seventh place behind both of his title rivals.

The Briton has the opportunity to overtake Piastri in the Drivers' Championship and recreate a safe gap to Verstappen in the standings, too.

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