F1 News: Max Verstappen’s Hilarious Reaction to Norris Making Top 3 In Spanish Qualifying
The Spanish Grand Prix qualifying took an unexpected turn when McLaren’s Lando Norris secured a spot in the top three, alongside the anticipated leader Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Verstappen humorously acknowledged Norris’s surprise presence during a post-session press conference after his hilarious initial reaction. Despite the successful qualifying round, Norris expressed concerns about his performance in the upcoming race, highlighting the uncertainty and competitiveness of the event.
At today’s qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, spectators were treated to an exhilarating display. A sudden shower sent the session into turmoil, with cars skidding off course and an unexpected grid line-up. Expectedly, Max Verstappen bagged a flawless P1 finish, and Carlos Sainz raced to P2. However, the surprise lay in McLaren’s Lando Norris, who secured a spot in the top three, leading to a humorous response from Verstappen.
Norris has long been battling for a car with the speed to match his talent behind the wheel. The sight of the young British driver in the top three, whether due to luck, track-specific performance, or sheer McLaren prowess, was a welcome spectacle for fans – and Max.
The qualifying round concluded with the three leading cars drawing into the parc ferme. Verstappen was taken aback on spotting Norris’s McLaren alongside his RB19, responding with a thumbs-up and a handshake.
During the post-session press conference, Verstappen remarked on his friend’s unexpected spot in the top three.
“I also expected Carlos to be there, I just didn’t expect Lando to be there, but that’s a good surprise! Well, sorry! I didn’t expect McLaren to be there! Sorry, I have to rephrase. I always expect Lando to be high up!”
Today, the camaraderie between Lando and Verstappen was evident and refreshing to witness as they basked in their success. However, Norris seemed less hopeful about the race tomorrow.
“It’s really just hold on for dear life,” he admitted to Sky Sports F1 regarding his plan for the upcoming race. “Top 10. We’ll see. We didn’t expect to be so good today. If I made one little mistake, I was what? Four, five, six positions back almost.
“So I’ll be careful when it says like we were exceptional today or we were amazing today because, in the end, there’s always little things in driving. Maybe someone made a one-tenth mistake, and then it was five or six drivers split by just over a tenth and a half.
“So yeah, I’ll give myself some some credit – a little bit of credit – but, at the same time, that can easily turn around tomorrow in terms of extra race pace.
“Red Bull always take a step forward come Sunday, Aston are always incredible on Sunday race pace.
“I wouldn’t say it’s our strongest area. But, yeah, hopefully it’s just another surprise like today and we’ll see.”
