Norris: With a good feeling car you push and get the lap time

But starting his McLaren from the top spot on the grid for Norris is not a given that he's going to exit Turn 1 in that same position he starts from. If there is a flaw in his armoury, it is by his own admission that getting off the line is the main one, unlike his hot laps, which are on the level of acknowledged speedster of this era Charles Leclerc in terms of the fastest guys in F1 at the moment.

If he does put the hammer down and get a solid start, he could control this race. McLaren has very handy pace for the long haul, which Sunday night will be. Estimates are that anything around half or more per lap is the advantage.

But that has never stopped Verstappen from causing damage with a car that perhaps is not the best, which is something Norris will be wary of. The Dutchman starts beside Norris, and from behind they will be stalked by the resurgent Mercedes duo, with Lewis, Hamilton, and George Russell both keen to add a fourth win in what has been a recovery season for them.

In contrast, McLaren rules the roost in terms of the F1 pecking order. For Norris and McLaren, this is their race to win or lose. Speaking after his claiming sixth F1 pole position start, Norris summed up: "It was tough, especially through qualifying.

"I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and gain a lot of lap time. And all of the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker, so it put me under a bit more pressure, especially with just one lap at the end.

"I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore. A good feeling. I’ve felt good all weekend; I’ve felt confident—maybe not so much in qualy, but we got the job done," added the Briton.

Early on in Q3, Carlos Sainz pranged his Ferrari, which prompted a red flag as they cleared the wrecked Ferrari and reduced the final stanza of qualifying into a one-lap shootout, which Norris acknowledged: "I like it. It gets your heart rate going, and it’s good fun.

"I didn’t have to over push, and I could just do what I’ve been doing the whole weekend. That’s a nice feeling that I didn’t have to go over and beyond, but it’s tricky. The car’s moving around; it’s bumpy; it’s easy to brake one meter too late all of a sudden.

"You pay the price for overdriving and overpushing. But I kept it cool, and I did what I had to do, so I’m happy." My lap wasn’t as good as my lap prior to the red flag, so there’s always just that little bit more in it.

The car’s been feeling good, and when you have a good feeling car and you’re confident, you can go out and push and get the lap time, so I did the job I had to do and was excited to see what we could do," concluded Norris, who is targeting his third GP victory in Singapore on Sunday.

In the sister car, after his masterclass in Baku, Oscar Piastri was briefly P1 before he was toppled down the order and found himself P5. A disappointing result, and highlights how Qualifying is an area that needs work relative to Norris in P1. The Australian was nearly half a second shy of his teammate's best effort.

Piastri said in the McLaren team report: "A pretty average end to Qualifying, unfortunately. The lap was looking good until the last sector, and then I got a bit eager on the throttle and that was pretty much the end of the lap. It’s a shame because the car was competitive. A frustrating way to end Qualifying, but we’ll put the work in tonight and aim to move forward in tomorrow’s race."

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella reported: "A strong performance for the team overall in this Qualifying session, which confirms that the car can be competitive across many different types of circuit layouts. That’s important – not just for this event but overall, in this final quarter of the season.

"Lando has been putting in very strong laps all weekend and he’s taken the Pole Position he thoroughly deserved. On Oscar’s side, his lap in Q2 was very promising – and would have been enough for the front row of the grid – but the lap time went away from us in Q3.

"We’ll review that, but primarily our focus now is on preparation for the race tomorrow. The car is quick, and we should put ourselves in a position to achieve an important result at the Singapore Grand Prix," added Stella, whose McLaren team lead the 2024 F1 Constructors' standings by 20 points.