Lando Norris suffers Belgian GP setback as McLaren car 'completely destroyed'

29 July 2023 , 11:40

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Lando Norris suffers Belgian GP setback as McLaren car 'completely destroyed'

Lando Norris was relieved to secure seventh spot on the grid in Belgium after race engineer Will Joseph confirmed "significant damage" to his car in qualifying.

The British driver started from third last time out in Hungary, improving to second in the race proper, and will have been hoping to build on that performance. However, despite dropping a few places at Spa, the McLaren man recognised the damage to his car could have stopped him making Q3 altogether.

Norris qualified just behind team-mate Oscar Piastri, who led the way after Q2 but failed to convert that into pole. Max Verstappen qualified fastest but faces a grid penalty, meaning Charles Leclerc will begin from the front.

“I’m really happy – well, I mean, let’s say ‘frustrated’,” Norris told Sky (via RaceFans ). “I went off in Q1 and completely destroyed the floor, so I’m happy to have made it to Q3 and only be a couple of tenths off what Oscar did.

“I think he did a good job. His middle sector was very strong. We’re very poor in the straights, so there are wins and losses.

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But I’m happy. It could have been a lot worse, I could have been out in Q1. So I’ll take P7. They did a good job getting as much as they can fixed, but I think [it was] too much to be competitive today."

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Lando Norris will start from seventh in Belgium (AP)

Leclerc's pole is just his second of the 2023 season, as he looks to climb the overall rankings following last season's second-place finish in the drivers championship. Verstappen's penalty means the Red Bull driver's team-mate Sergio Perez starts second, with Lewis Hamilton just behind.

“I don’t think we’re bad," Norris said. "I think if we had a car that was together if I didn’t make a mistake in Q1, we could have had maybe a slightly better day.

"We weren’t miles off the guys ahead, but I’m happy I got what I did out of it. So I guess ‘frustrating’ just because it was pretty close between us and some of the others, but hopefully tomorrow we can turn it into a better result.”

Norris sits eighth in the overall standings, despite back-to-back podiums at Silverstone and in Hungary. Piastri, who starts fifth in Belgium, is 11th overall.

“I think in some ways, the track drying up and becoming closer to normal was a hindrance for me because I’ve not done a dry lap around here in an F1 car," said the Australian, who has yet to claim a podium finish in his maiden F1 season. "So for braking points and stuff like that, especially when off-line, it’s wet, you never want to brake too late and I think that’s where I left quite a bit on the table, unfortunately. So still a decent result.”

Tom Victor