Going into qualifying, it looks like pole position is Lando Norris’s to lose.
That was a mighty, mighty lap from him in FP3, finishing almost half a second clear of the field and nearly nine-tenths of a second up on title rival Max Verstappen.
It’s not even a McLaren strength right now. Norris was almost eight-tenths clear of teammate Oscar Piastri, while Ferrari couldn’t get within nine-tenths of the top time. You could hear Charles Leclerc saying on the radio how bad the car was feeling.
On both his quick laps on softs in FP3, it was Turn 4 that appeared to catch Verstappen out as he ran a bit wide over the curb. Even though he commented early in the session the car was feeling “much better”, the balance issues that had been hurting him lately still appear to linger.
George Russell was the only driver to lap within half a second of Norris, ending the session P2 ahead of Piastri and Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton had a less positive session for Mercedes, ending up seventh, 1.2 seconds off Norris.
Norris is in an excellent groove right now. The only drawback is that, as things stand, Verstappen might still be in the mix for a podium despite clearly being a step behind. A fascinating twist on the championship picture if this continues through to the race, nevertheless.
