ZANDVOORT, Netherlands — Lando Norris admits it will “take some magic” to beat Oscar Piastri to victory at the Dutch Grand Prix after qualifying behind his teammate on Saturday.
After topping all three practice sessions ahead of qualifying, Norris was 0.012 seconds shy of Piastri in Q3 and will start second on the grid behind his title rival on pole.
Norris has won three of the last four races this season, closing the gap to Piastri in the standings to nine points ahead of the summer break, but said it would take something special to maintain that momentum and secure a victory from second on the grid.
“The hardest guy to normally overtake is your teammate, especially when in a quali like today where we were split by one hundredth of a second,” Norris said. “So yeah, I mean, it’s going to take some magic, some good strategy or incredible tyre saving or something.
“But it’s normally pretty difficult to overtake in the first place. It’s even harder to do that behind your teammate. So, I’ll see what I can dream of tonight.”
Despite setting the pace during practice, Norris said the small gap in performance between the two McLaren drivers meant that he did not consider himself the favourite going into qualifying.
“I would have loved to be on pole,” he said. “I think that’s the thing that would have made me the happiest.
“But it’s been close all weekend. You just look at the results and I’ve been ahead, but I easily could have been behind by just losing half a tenth or a tenth here and there.
“So, it’s not like I’ve dominated it. I’ve just been ever so slightly ahead and it’s just switched the other way around for quali.
“I still am confident for the race pace. We know that’s one of our strengths as a team. But I also know my main competitor is the guy ahead of me. We’ll see tonight.
“Of course, we always put the plan together, but with the other side and with Oscar and everything, so it’s always a little bit trickier to beat that one guy.
“But at the same time, it’s a long race. We’ll see what we can do.”
