Lando Norris showed once again that a decent car he is very handy Formula 1 driver, plonking the newly updated McLaren fourth on the grid for Sunday's 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, beating the team's engine supplier Mercedes in the process.
McLaren have not had a happy start to this season, they are seventh with 17 points, behind their now traditional rivals Alpine who are on 44 while Red Bull canter away to the 2023 F1 Construtcors' title on a mighty, 321 points.
Thus some good news, in the year Zak Brown told his board Mclaren would be a winning force, is a welcome respite. And it came in the form of hastily shipped updates to be bolted to Norris' car and second row start on the grid for the Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring is their reward.
Norris said after qualifying in Austria: "I'm super happy, the guys have done a good job to get all the updates here and it's paid off straightaway. A very good day from start to finish. We had a few issues this morning, which meant we were even more limited on running. To get, let's call it a new car, working as it should."
Norris: I made a small mistake in the last corner
Later in the team report the 23-year-old Briton added: "The car was feeling good today, I had a lot of confidence and was chipping away through qualifying so I’m happy. The team did an awesome job on getting the upgrades ready for this race and they did a great job today to get us there.
"I think I could’ve had a little bit more as I made a small mistake in the last corner, which likely cost me P3, so I am a little bit frustrated, but at the same time, I’m taking a P4 every day. So, I’m happy, we’re in a good position for Sunday and we’ll try to do the same again on Saturday," concluded Norris.
In the sister car, apparently without the updates on his car, Oscar Piastri was only good for 13th, nevertheless, he is proving to be by far the outstanding rookie of the year, his two counterparts are struggling relative to their teammates while the 22-year-old Australian is keeping Norris honest.
Piastri: It’s a bit of a shame as I would have been in Q3 without the lap deletion
Summing his qualy, Piastri said in the McLaren team report: “So, P13 in qualifying. It’s a bit of a shame as I would have been in Q3 without the lap deletion. The pace was very encouraging for both myself and Lando.
"The new upgrade is looking good, so a huge thank you to the team for all of their work. We’ll try again tomorrow to get into the top 10 and then, of course, for Sunday, we’ll try to make our way into the points if we can," added Paistri.
Team boss Andrea Stella said: “Today feels a little bittersweet. From a car performance point of view, we should have had two cars in Q3 but unfortunately, Oscar had a lap time deleted. This was a situation that many endured today, and we know it is a factor in Austria.
"On the other side of the garage, Lando’s performance with the upgraded car was encouraging, as he was consistently near the top of each session, but we will learn more over the weekend, especially in terms of race pace.
"I would like to thank the team at the factory and trackside for the efforts that led to delivering the upgrades and for the hard work ongoing at McLaren, as we attempt to gain competitiveness," concluded Stella.
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