Lando Norris: Red Bull is too fast for us

Lando Norris ended qualifying in Suzuka with his best result of the season, but admitted it was almost impossible to fight with the leaders…

Question: Lando, today you were the best of the rest and only lost two tenths to pole position. Did you expect to be this close?
Lando Norris: No, I didn’t expect it. The battle turned out to be exciting, but Mercedes, Aston Martin and Ferrari performed slightly worse than in previous stages. We did well and only lost to the two fastest cars: an excellent result. I’m happy.

In the last qualifying round I drove two very fast laps, two tenths is quite a bit. Last year we were five tenths off pole position here. This result is the best proof of the progress we have made in the past six months.

Question: How do you deal with opponents who start at the front?
Lando Norris: I do not know. And how to deal with it. I’ll try to make a good start. Last year I fought side by side with Max in the first corner. It would be great to do it again, but it’s hard. They are fast. They complained about their race speed, but I don’t think they’ve had a problem with that in the last four or five years. They will be fine tomorrow too.

We are under a lot of pressure from our rivals who start behind us, so we have to look in the mirrors. I would like to maintain my position until the finish.

Q: What about moving forward? Do you think this is your best chance in a while to get ahead of one of them?
Lando Norris: Maybe. But it is difficult. Sergio is doing great and his car is difficult to keep up with. But last year, when we were further away from them, we didn’t end up losing as much.

They’re too fast for us. Yes, we are sometimes faster in qualifying, but in the race they always pull away. So let’s be realistic, but I will do everything I can to win back.