05/07/2025 17:37
Lando Norris was left 'pretty shocked' by the first session of
qualifying for the British Grand Prix ahead of landing third on the
grid at Silverstone. Following a crash for Alpine's Franco
Colapinto, the remaining 19 drivers were covered by just
seven-tenths of a second at the end of Q1, underlining the fine
margins on show around Silverstone. The top-10 shoot-out was then a
captivating affair, with Norris denied by McLaren team-mate Oscar
Piastri, and ultimately Red Bull's four-time F1 champion Max
Verstappen at the death to finish two-tenths of a second adrift of
the Dutchman in third. "A good qualifying," said Norris. "I'm not
going to be unhappy with third. I'd love to have been on top here
at Silverstone, but Max did a good job. Not quick enough today but
a fun qualifying. Flying around here is pretty fast, not the top,
but still okay." Assessing what made the difference, he added:
"Little things put you ahead or behind. We saw how close Q1 was,
which was pretty shocking but good at the same time. "But little
margins, little mistakes, little things, a couple of hundredths can
win or lose you the game. [It was] Tough with the wind conditions,
a little bit of rain here and there, but still all good fun, and so
I'm happy with third." As to the fight ahead with Piastri and
Verstappen, he said: "I think it's going to be fun tomorrow. "I
think it's going to be a good battle between the three of us,
probably more, with Lewis, Charles and George behind as well. It's
going to be an interesting Sunday. So I'm looking forward to it."
Russell starts fourth in his Mercedes ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc
in fifth and sixth in their Ferraris.
