Norris delivers a reminder after losing F1 crown

Kimi Antonelli’s title celebrations on Sunday came after a race in which Lewis Hamilton was chasing down Max Verstappen for victory, leading to the special moment of the two multi-time world champions hoisting the latest to join their club aloft.

Absent from that image was the outgoing world champion, who had himself won a title in his own way a year before and looked to have stepped up a level mid-season amid a run of three poles and two wins in four races.

But Lando Norris was unable to keep up that form as McLaren slipped from contention after Madrid. After a run of 77 points from a possible 100 on either side of the summer break, Norris has scored just 35 from a possible 133 in the five races and one Sprint since he last stood on the podium in Spain.

Interlagos has been a happy hunting ground for Norris in recent years, though, and he arrived in Brazil this weekend having secured pole position on each of his last two visits and taken a dominant double victory in a Sprint weekend last year. Armed with an upgraded MCL40, the defending champion made it three Sao Paulo poles in a row on Saturday.

READ MORE: Norris times final run to perfection to top marathon Sao Paulo GP qualifying

“Tense session, especially knowing the weather was only going to get worse,” Norris said after making the most of wet conditions. "I could see on that lap that it was getting a little bit wetter and starting to rain more, so I knew that was probably my only chance, those two laps.

“It was tense when you want to push so much. You need to kind of learn about the conditions, but you also need to not make a single mistake. It’s a lot to try and do and be correct in such a short amount of time and under such pressure. But actually, I felt pretty confident through the whole of qualifying.

“Q3 was definitely the trickiest because it was also difficult to see – because of the light – where were the dry bits, the wet bits and puddles, things like that. So, more rewarding for that instance. And nice to be back on top.”

George Russell was a clear threat, but a Q3 session that started with an outside chance of a shock pole position for Liam Lawson given track conditions soon came down to McLaren or Mercedes maximizing their opportunities.


Much like he did during that strong run in August and September, it was Norris who rose to the occasion, and the driver who still carries the No. 1 on his car for another month felt it was another example of his ability to deliver when his machinery allows.

The McLaren driver mastered the tricky conditions at Interlagos when it mattered most, earning him his third consecutive pole at the track. Clive Mason/Getty Images

“Pole in any situation is very nice, for sure. It’s a good thing for the team. At the same time, conditions like this are not always about who has the best car and who has the most grip. It’s all about the driver. These are conditions where you feel like you can make a little bit more of a difference at times, for sure.

“I feel like I’m against good guys who also have the capabilities of going for pole, and today we managed to do it because I put two good laps together and I had a good gap, and we managed things well. I certainly don’t think we're favorites at all, and I still don'’t think we have the outright pace compared to the top few teams. But we’re certainly getting there, and I think it’s just a good thing for me to know that when I have that opportunity, I can make the most of it.

“Like when I had the three opportunities in the middle of the season to be on pole or to win races, we did every time. So I feel like it’s still been a good season to look back on and go, ‘Did I make the most of those opportunities? Yep.’

“But also, like I said, for the team, it’s reassuring for them. It’s a confidence booster for all of them to kind of end the season knowing we’ve caught up a lot since the beginning of the season. A big deficit, we caught up. We still have plenty of work to do, but when there are moments when there is that little opportunity to get pole, we have the car to be there. We just need to be there a bit more consistently.”

Just six days after seeing Antonelli officially take his crown off him, Norris was able to provide a timely reminder that he could well be in the fight for next year’s championship, too. He certainly looks every bit the formidable opponent you would expect of a world champion when the McLaren is in the mix.

Given the competitive picture in the dry at the end of FP3, Norris is not confident he has the car to fight for victory without further rain on Sunday, so he’s hoping for repeat conditions to those seen in qualifying.

“I’m hoping for a wet race. There’s a good likelihood it’ll be wet. I mean, there’s a bit of rain, I think, tomorrow at times, and it’ll still be damp through the day, so we could just have an exciting race with a little bit of everything, honestly. I was certainly more confident in the wet and inters than I was in the dry. I think in the dry, we just didn’t have the pace compared to these guys, so I’ll certainly be happier if I wake up and see rain in the morning.”

McLaren brought upgrades when nobody else did and took advantage Saturday at Interlagos, but it was still far from the outright quickest car even though it started strongly in FP1. Those upgrades were designed with 2027 in mind – the front wing is planned to be on the launch car next year – and suggest the development potential exists for McLaren to at least start the season closer to the ultimate pace.

After Norris perhaps showed his frustration at the drop-off in form in both Baku and Singapore during the previous tripleheader of consecutive race weekends, this was the sort of display of his skill behind the wheel that might just make him a serious candidate to regain his title next year.