Lando Norris put his crash of a fortnight ago behind him with a monster pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix, by half a second on the world’s shortest-timed circuit.
He had left Canada with his confidence – and world championship dream – ravaged, after driving into the back of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, a mistake for which the British driver held up his hands.
But this weekend Norris has exuded renewed intent on and off the track, and he duly converted the unmatched pace of his papaya car into a 12th career pole with brilliant skill.
Practically faultless, he was streets ahead of second-placed Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. ‘It’s nice to see the old me back now and again,’ said Norris, adding: ‘Now I need to prove myself over and over again. Hopefully, this is the beginning of it.’
Piastri was held up by a yellow flag as he was about to start his final flying lap, and had to abort. However, he lacked Norris’s pace throughout. The Australian will start third, sharing the second row with Lewis Hamilton’s red car.
So, we come again to a nagging question: how will Norris start?
McLaren’s Lando Norris secured pole for the Austrian Grand Prix after a scintillating lap
Lewis Hamilton was involved in an incident which resulted in a fire at the Red Bull Ring
Track marshals were quick to extinguish the blaze after Hamilton’s Ferrari ran wide
Well, if he can do what has not always come naturally to him and hold his nerve and race craft in the early exchanges, he is firm favourite to claim his third win of the season and narrow his 22-point deficit to Piastri. He seems in the mood.
A poor outing for Max Verstappen on his team’s home track – the Red Bull Ring, their undulating green amphitheatre in the curves of the Styrian mountains. Cheered on by tens of thousands of orange-shirted Dutch fans, he qualified seventh.
He was incandescent with his car, complaining: ‘Completely undriveable. Worse than before. I don’t know what to say.’ Hardly music to Red Bull’s ears as Mercedes pursue the quadruple world champion for next year or the one beyond.
Of the other Brits, not the easiest day for George Russell, winner in Canada. He qualified a gritty fifth for Mercedes.
Oliver Bearman enjoyed an impressive afternoon in escaping from Q1, unlike his Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon. Bearman will start 15th, the Frenchman 17th.
Flames fluttered from a sun-scorched grass verge after being lit by the underside of Hamilton’s Ferrari, causing a short delay to proceedings as water was applied. But, really, it was Norris who caught fire.