Lando Norris reveals sleep trouble after shocking himself with pole
Lando Norris surprised himself by taking pole position in Mexico City.
Lando Norris shocked himself with his stunning pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver stormed to his fifth pole of the season at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with an epic lap that beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.252 seconds.
Norris delivered under huge pressure to inflict a potential hammer blow on McLaren teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri in the title race.
Piastri, who leads Norris by 14 points with five races remaining, will start down in seventh after struggling for pace in qualifying as his stuttering form continued in Mexico City.
“I'm happy to be back on pole. It's actually been quite a long time, so it's a good feeling,” Norris said after romping to pole.
"The lap was one of those where you don't really know what happened. It felt decent but when I saw the time I was very pleasantly surprised.
"I've been feeling good all weekend, especially today. I got a little bit nervous of the Ferrari at the end, but I pulled it out when it mattered and I'm very happy.”
Norris went on to reveal that "I've not been sleeping well lately”, before joking “maybe that's the key to it all?”
But the Briton is under no illusions about how difficult a job he faces to convert pole into victory in Sunday’s 71-lap grand prix.
"I've had some good races here in the past and will focus on what I can control. That's all I can do,” Norris said.
"I'm here to win. I'll be looking forward. I know I'm going to have some quick guys behind me.
"It's a long run down to Turn 1 and so forth. The race pace from the Ferraris is normally very strong.
"I'm expecting a battle, I'm not expecting it to be easy. Eyes forward and I'll see how much I can win by.”
Dominant Lando Norris praised
Norris’s dominant performance in qualifying was praised by Sky Sports F1 pundit and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.
"It was a beautiful, controlled lap. The car never moved," the Canadian said. "He knew exactly where he wanted to put the car. He did everything he wanted.
"He also knows he has the best pace for the race. All he has to do is survive that first corner.”
Fellow Sky Sports F1 pundit Jamie Chadwick said: "That's the most dominant we've seen Lando ever.
"All season against Oscar it's been the two of them - but here he's put a gap on the field but also his team-mate.
"Championship-wise it couldn't have been better.”
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