Norris: I’m doing good but I’ve been better!

The 21-year-old was masterful in trecherous conditions during qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday. In Q1 he was four-tenths faster than anyone else and in Q2 he was a couple of tenths better than the next.

But then on his sighting lap, at the start of Q3, with rain heavier than earlier, the McLaren driver ended a victim of Eau Rouge, the tail of the McLaren got loose he tried to correct but no grip saw him skid across the track and into the notorious wall.

It was a big impact, perhaps the same (if not more) vicious that Max Verstappen's high-speed shunt at Silverstone last month. But again the strength of modern F1 cars came to the rescue as Norris, winded and bruised in the cockpit, said on the radio: “Sorry boys, we should have had a good one there. I let you down. My bad."

He was taken to the medical centre for a check-up.

Later in the team report, Norris said: “First of all, I’m doing good, but I’ve been better! I think just a bit bruised. Obviously, it was quite a big impact and I think my body’s just been thrown around a little bit but I’m good. I’m ready to race tomorrow and I want to get back on track already because it didn’t end the way I wanted it to.

“Everything was going extremely well. Since the first lap in Q1, things were going perfectly and the car was feeling hooked up. I felt confident with the car. It was tricky going out in Q3 because, even on the out-lap, I was saying how wet it was because I was aquaplaning quite a bit. It was just a difficult situation to be in.

"How much do you want to push? How much do you not? I think, a combination of pushing a bit too much for the weather at that point and aquaplaning a little bit in the middle of Eau Rouge obviously didn’t end too well.

“I feel bad because things were going very well. I think I could have fought for pole position, but I’ve now given the team a lot of work to do. We’ll see where we start tomorrow and try to score as many points as possible.

"Finally, a big thanks to all the marshals and medical staff for their help and hard work," added Norris who was classified tenth at the end of the session. He did no timed lap in Q3.

The McLaren pit garage was thunderstruck until their driver climbed out of the wrecked car, it was the big one every team fears.

Norris will take a five-place grid penalty for the race after McLaren confirmed they have changed the gearbox in his MCL35M.

A relieved Andreas Seidl reported late last night: “The most important news today is that Lando is fine. After precautionary checks at the Medical Centre and the hospital, he has been cleared to be back in the car tomorrow. I want to say thanks to the medical team and marshals for all of their help and support.

"Currently, we are still assessing the damage to his car. The outcome of those checks will determine whether he can start from the grid or will have to begin the race from the pitlane.

"Either way, with the strong performance he has delivered all weekend, the objective for him is very clear: to make ground during the race and score good points," added the McLaren team boss.

Seconds before Norris pranged, Sebastian Vettel was on the radio calling for a red flag as the conditions worsened suddenly. But none was forthcoming until the McLaren shattered all over the track's most notorious corner.