Pole position and satisfaction for the British driver in the season’s final qualifying session. Here’s what Norris had to say after claiming pole position at Yas Marina
Lando Norris secures pole position for the Abu Dhabi GP with a stunning lap, beating Oscar Piastri and, notably, Carlos Sainz by two-tenths of a second. With this performance, the Briton propels McLaren towards a Constructors’ Championship that now seems a mere formality. After losing the Drivers’ Championship to Max Verstappen in Las Vegas due to numerous team and driver errors throughout the season, Norris and McLaren have the chance to end 2024 on a high note. The Woking-based team, which hasn’t claimed the Constructors’ title since 1998, is on the verge of bringing it back to Britain. Now, only tomorrow’s race—the grand finale—remains.
Norris’ words after the pole position
Speaking to F1 media, Lando Norris reflected on his determined, powerful, and skillful performance at Yas Marina: “It was a perfect day for us, even though it was tougher than we had hoped. We’re thrilled with the 1-2. My lap at the end was great; this is exactly how we wanted to finish today”.
When asked about the strategy for the race—whether to aim for a parade finish or focus on covering Ferrari’s Sainz—Norris said:
“Cover Ferrari in the race? Our main goal is to beat them, but we want to do it in style and win. I want to win. We’ll see what we can do; we need to keep our heads down and stay focused. Tomorrow, we have a great opportunity, and we’ll give it everything—we always race to win”.
Then the Briton concluded: “Of course, in the back of our minds, we’ll be thinking about what we need to do to achieve our main goal. Finishing the year with a pole is always a nice touch—I want to thank the team for that“.
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Photo: McLaren