Norris: Pole Joy Victory Essential in Hungary

Norris secures pole in Hungary but insists a win is crucial for a successful day.

McLaren F1 Secures Front Row Lockout for First Time Since 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Lando Norris’s pole position and Oscar Piastri’s second place at the Hungarian Grand Prix have rectified a long-standing statistic, much to the delight of the day’s poleman.

“I’m very pleased. It wasn’t an easy qualifying with challenging conditions, but I’m particularly happy for the team; it’s great to see us first and second on the grid. Congratulations to the team,” stated Norris, acknowledging his confidence from the start of the weekend.

“That’s true, but we’re always looking for more confidence. We were satisfied arriving here, confident that we had a car to compete for pole, and that’s what we did. It’s good work by the team; we work hard every weekend, and it’s great to take pole here.”

Now, he recognises that victory will be the sole objective for McLaren tomorrow: “We’re in the best position, regardless of the conditions. I’m looking forward to it, we have both cars in the front row, we can control the race, if we stay where we are, it should be fine. If I don’t win, it won’t be a good day.”

Piastri Promises a ‘Smart’ Start

Oscar Piastri is also pleased to see McLaren achieving top performance in qualifying and hopes to conclude successfully in the race, even though he would have liked to clinch the pole position.

“It’s great to be here, especially with a result like this. The team has done an incredible job. It’s the first qualifying one-two for McLaren in a very long time. I’m frustrated to miss the pole by just a few hundredths, we always want to do better, but it was tough for me yesterday and I’m glad to bounce back,” said Piastri, who doesn’t think he could have done better, having made no errors.

“Not really, that was the case in the first lap, but the second lap was quite good. You always think you could have done this or that better when you’re slower, but it was a good lap, and I’m happy with our work. Everything is still to play for tomorrow and there are big points on the table.”

The Australian implies that he will seize his chance for victory tomorrow if possible: “I’d like to take the lead, but with both cars on the front row, we have a big task ahead to win the constructors’ championship, so we’ll be smart. We especially want to finish first and second, and we’ll see who ends up where.”