French GP: Lando Norris delighted with qualifying result

McLaren driver Lando Norris said that he was delighted with the way his car performed during qualifying for the French Grand Prix.

The team has brought several new upgrades to the car for the race at Circuit Paul Ricard, with the second half of the campaign set to begin this weekend with round 12 of the championship.

McLaren are looking to earn fourth place in the Constructors’ standings in the coming rounds, too, as they fight Alpine and the likes of Alfa Romeo in the midfield.

Upgrades are going to be crucial in terms of what they can manage, then, and judging by Norris’ performance on Saturday, it looks as though the new parts on the McLaren are working very nicely indeed.

Speaking after the session, Norris reflected on qualifying P5 for today’s race:

“I’m very happy. P5 is a great result for us. The car has been working very well, especially in the low fuel conditions. I feel like we did a very good job, extracted everything we could out of the car and I’m very happy with that.  Thank you to the team both at track and the factory for their work to bring the upgrade package to the car and making sure everything was there for us to put together a great final lap.

“There’s a long and difficult job to do [in the race] but we’re in the best place we can be to secure some good points. Let’s see what we can do.” 

Daniel Ricciardo starts in P11 in the other McLaren, meanwhile, and so a double points finish could be on for the team from Woking if things go their way.