Lando Norris: McLaren driver hoping for ‘bad night’s sleep’ ahead of Qatar Grand Prix as first F1 title chance awaits | F1 News

Lando Norris says he is hoping for a “bad night’s sleep” as he looks to seal his first F1 world title on Sunday at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Norris will begin the penultimate race of the season, which starts at 4pm (build-up from 2.30pm live on Sky Sports F1), from second in behind pole-sitter and closest title rival Oscar Piastri, with the other title protagonist, Max Verstappen, in third.

If Norris finishes ahead of Verstappen and outscores Piastri by at least four points, he will become world champion with a race to spare, while victory on Sunday in Qatar would guarantee the title.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 how he will sleep, Norris said: “Hopefully bad! The worse I sleep the better I do!”

Norris held provisional pole after the first runs in Q3 but Piastri stole it back with a mighty lap at the end of qualifying, while Norris abandoned his final effort at Turn Two as he understeered wide.

He explained: “Turn One was much better. I felt like I was a tenth up but at Turn Two I’m not sure. I don’t know if the wind changed. I just got pushed into a small understeer and that cost me. I had to abort the lap. I was going to go off the track, and I didn’t want to damage the floor.

“Pretty disappointed. I’m convinced I would have been on pole but I’m not now! I can’t always be great and on pole but there was an opportunity on Saturday. It’s over now and our focus is on the race.”

Will dirty side of the grid hamper Norris?

Starting from second means Norris will be launching off from the dirty side of the grid as the drivers do not use that part of the track on a normal lap, instead going down the left-hand side where Piastri on pole and Verstappen in third will start from.

Norris, who started from second in the 2023 Qatar GP Sprint and dropped to sixth, says his side of the grid is “a lot worse” in terms of grip.

“We will see how my start is. Hopefully they clean the right side a bit more! I will just have to maximise what I’ve been doing,” he said.

“It’s a long run. There are always opportunities but I don’t think it will be a race full of opportunities. Hopefully I’m proved wrong and it’s a chaotic race.”

The pole-sitter has won seven of the last eight races this season and overtaking in Saturday’s Sprint in Qatar proved difficult due to the high-speed corners which make it hard to follow, plus the aerodynamics on the current F1 cars creating lots of dirty air.

Piastri dominated the Sprint and is hoping to repeat that performance on Sunday to take at least seven points out of Norris’ championship advantage.

The Australian said: “Keeping the lead helps a lot in terms of the clean air. Everything was under control in the Sprint, so I will try to get a good start again and hopefully more of the same.”

McLaren have the car to beat, so Verstappen could be very aggressive at the start, knowing he must finish ahead of Norris to keep his championship hopes alive.

Verstappen says he will need “a bit of luck” to win the race, which features a 25-lap tyre limit due to tyre concerns, meaning there will be a minimum of two pit stops.

He said: “The start can be quite important. We will try to have a good one but, at the same time, you never know what happens in a race.

“Some things are not in your control. Some crazy things can happen behind you, so you need to keep everything open.”

Sky Sports F1’s Qatar GP schedule

Sunday November 30
11.55am: F2 Feature Race
2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
4pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted’s Notebook

Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues with the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday at 4pm (build-up from 2.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime