Norris says he does not have the fastest car. He will be hoping for rain on Sunday

McLaren continued to introduce upgrades in Brazil and looked like the closest challenger to championship-winning Mercedes from the start of the weekend. Lando Norris is enjoying another strong weekend and celebrated pole position on Saturday. According to the reigning world champion, the MCL40 was not the fastest car in Brazil, making his pole position all the sweeter.

Interlagos is becoming a happy hunting ground for the British champion, who will start from pole position in Brazil for the third successive year. Last year he converted pole into victory in Brazil and took an important step towards the title. This year he cannot fight for the biggest prizes, and every small success brings him great satisfaction.

Lando’s satisfaction was clear after securing his milestone 20th pole position. “I had a little back for myself. I’ll give myself a little one,” Norris said proudly after qualifying. “I mean, today was a good day. We’re on pole, and nice surprise in some ways. A good reward for the team, a good reward for myself.”

“Iin conditions like this, it’s so easy to lock up a little bit, lose two, three tenths, to have one wheel spin at the last corner, and for things to easily look differen. So it’s tough, especially because I knew the Mercedes were very quick. So I knew in the two laps we had, I had to make the most of that opportunity, and I did. And then those are very rewarding days for myself and the team when we maybe don’t have the absolute performance as a package to be able to get it, but when you put things together, driving well like today, then we’re able to achieve it, and that’s a pleasant thing for me and the team,” Norris said.

The question, then, is whether he can repeat that success on Sunday. Many of the favourites are starting deep in the field. Norris will effectively have only Kimi Antonelli to contend with. Liam Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg will start from the second row, with their focus primarily on those behind them. According to Norris, the weather will be crucial on Sunday.

“I expect a battle no matter what. I think if it’s dry, I probably expect a bigger battle because I don’t think we quite have the speed comparing to them. That’s why, yeah, I feel like we had a very good day today. We made the most of the condition when it’s not so much about who is the best car, it’s a little bit more of who can push things to the limit and make the most of that opportunity,” Lando said.

“So I’m hoping when I wake up, it’s a dark, gloomy day because I feel like we’ll have a better chance then,” Norris added hopefully.