Catch-up needed at the Belgian Grand Prix: Lando Norris regrets grid penalty

Lando Norris looks back on the final practice session at the venerable Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with mixed feelings. Although he managed to set the third-fastest qualifying lap on the Ardennes rollercoaster, he will have to start the race from 12th on the grid due to a grid penalty. Given his strong qualifying performance, this is naturally doubly frustrating, as he admitted after the qualifying session.

“We haven’t actually changed anything on the car, but we’re a bit quicker on this circuit than in the previous World Championship rounds. It feels great, of course, to be in the top three in qualifying here. At the same time, it’s not so great, of course, because I know I’ll be dropped back ten places,” said the Briton, who, in the excitement, had apparently forgotten that the penalty is effectively reduced to nine places because Isack Hadjar, who finished ninth, also has to move back due to exceeding the permitted number of engine components.

“It’s a shame – it would have been really nice to have a bit of a battle with the lads ahead of me, but that’s just how it is and we’ll simply try to make the best of our situation. It was still a very good qualifying session and a strong final lap. To be honest, I’ve been pretty happy with it so far this weekend,” added the 26-year-old.

When asked about the chances of a successful comeback, Norris replied: “It’s definitely the plan to get back up the field. But I don’t know how far up we can get. The car is obviously working quite well here, and it’s good enough to set the third-fastest lap in the field. We’ll see how things go in the race. There are bound to be a few opportunities, as we’re in for a long race. I hope we can overtake well and put on a good show for everyone.”

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