A week after his much-discussed qualifying round in Austria, where Norris was nearly half a second faster than the rest, the Brit demonstrates once again at Silverstone that he has a knack for this. However, he fails to repeat the feat. Behind Max Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri, Norris will start the British GP, just like last year, from the third position.
“It was a good qualifying,” judges the Brit, who for the first time this year has a series of his own stands near Stowe Corner. “Of course, I’m not entirely satisfied, because I would have liked to be at the front. But Max did a good job, I just wasn’t fast enough.” Final conclusion: “Not top, but still a good day.”
According to Norris, a qualifying lap with little fuel and the fastest tires on Silverstone is a ‘great experience’. But also treacherous. “Very small things can put you on pole here but also throw you back,” he believes. “Look at Q1, how close everyone was there: if you miss a few hundredths somewhere, that can be decisive. It will,” concludes Norris, “be an exciting Sunday anyway with the Ferraris and George (Russell, ed) right behind us.”
