Lando Norris: I hope the settings will work during the race

Lando Norris set the fifth fastest time in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, but Max Verstappen’s penalty means he will start fourth. The McLaren driver said the team relied on the race when choosing the car settings, sacrificing some qualifying speed.

His teammate Oscar Piastri set the sixth fastest time and believes McLaren has a good chance of winning the race.

Lando Norris (5th): “I’m quite happy. On Friday we were fast, but all weekend Red Bull has been one step ahead of us, even though we were a bit faster yesterday. I just don’t think Red Bull has played all its cards like we have. Yesterday’s speed shows what we’re capable of.

Nevertheless, we were optimistic about qualifying, although I had some problems during the session. Oscar was faster than me in the first two parts, but in the final we both had problems. Today I didn’t manage to get the most out of the car – I was constantly overtaking.

However, I showed the fifth time, which was a pleasant surprise. This is obviously not the result I wanted, and tomorrow I will have to overtake fast cars, like the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

I think the lower level of downforce on the car could potentially have a negative impact on our results today, but I hope this choice will pay off in the race.”

Oscar Piastri (6th): “It was a bit difficult to drive the car, but I think it’s because of the conditions on the track. As the lap goes on, different parts of the asphalt have different grip – on the old asphalt there’s no grip at all, so it was difficult. The car is fast, but I made a few mistakes. Also, because of our strategy, I didn’t have new kits for the final.

“It’s a bit of a shame, but I’m still in a good position. In Spa you can overtake and on dry roads we are definitely fast. I think we can be confident in our chances to win. We have a very high pace on a dry track.”