Norris wants to "prove it to myself over and over again"

Having delivered a faultless and utterly dominant performance in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren driver Lando Norris claims that he wants to "prove it to myself over and over again."

Despite his collision with his team-mate at the Canadian Grand Prix, Lando Norris has looked to be in top form so far at this weekend's Spielberg round.

The Briton sat out the opening session as he handed over his MCL39 to F2 driver Alexander Dunne, but he set the pace both in FP2 and FP3. The McLaren driver then put his disappointment from Canada firmly behind him, dominating the nail-biting qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring to charge his way to a comfortable pole.

His team-mate Oscar Piastri never looked strong enough to challenge Norris for pole, and yellow flags brought out for a spin from Alpine's Pierre Gasly made things even worse. The championship leader ultimately ended up third on the grid behind his team-mate and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Explaining his brilliant performance in qualifying, Norris stated: “It was a good lap, that’s for sure. I guess just little bit by little bit.

“I feel even like my Q3 run one was good, but I knew there were a few places where if I just got it right I could get still quite a bit more time – and I did exactly that. I did what I planned to do, and when I plan to do something and it goes right, it normally goes very, very well.

“I’m very happy, [it’s been] a good day, and it’s been a good weekend for me so far, so hopefully we can keep it up.”

“I still savour this moment, especially because some of my tougher moments have been in Quali. To put in a lap like today, to have the performance throughout this weekend like I’ve had, is pleasing for myself.

Signing off with a word for his expectations for qualifying, Norris stated: "I’m excited. It’s a long race tomorrow. It’s more that it’s just a long season. I’m very happy with today, but I want to prove it to myself over and over again, and hopefully this is just the beginning of it.

“I’m really pleased with that. My first lap in Q3 was good, but I knew there were still a few places where I could find a little bit more, and that’s exactly what I did.

"It’s been a good weekend for me so far, the performance throughout the sessions has been great, and hopefully we can keep it up. It's a long race tomorrow but I am looking forward to it," concluded Norris.