Lando Norris: McLaren driver hopes for ‘bad night’s sleep’ ahead of Qatar Grand Prix with chance of winning first F1 title | F1 News

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

Norris will start the penultimate race of the season starting at 4pm (live broadcast on Sky Sports F1 builds up from 2:30pm) in second place behind pole sitter and closest title rival Oscar Piastri, with another title protagonist, Max Verstappen, in third.

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

Asked on Sky Sports F1 how he sleeps, Norris replied: “I hope it’s bad! The worse I sleep, the better I sleep!”

Norris held provisional pole for the first run of Q3, but Piastri took it back with a strong lap in the final stages of qualifying, while Norris abandoned his last effort at Turn 2 due to wide understeer.

He explained: “Turn 1 was much better. I felt like I was up about 10 seconds, but in Turn 2 I’m not so sure. I don’t know if the wind changed or not. I ended up understeering a little bit and that hurt me. I had to abort the lap. I was going to go off the track and I didn’t want to damage the floor.”

“It’s quite disappointing. I was sure I could get pole, but not now! I don’t always get pole in great shape, but I had a chance on Saturday. It’s over now and I’m concentrating on the race.”

Will the dirty side of the grid get in Norris’ way?

Starting second would mean Norris would start on the dirty side of the grid, meaning the drivers would not use that part of the track on a normal lap, instead starting on the left side where pole-sitter Piastri and third-placed Verstappen would start.

Norris, who started second in the 2023 Qatar GP Sprint, dropped back to sixth, but said his side of the grid was “pretty bad” in terms of grip.

“We’ll see how my start goes. I hope they clean up the right side a little more! I’ll just make the best of what I’ve been doing,” he said.

“It’s a long run. There’s always a chance, but I don’t think it’s going to be a race full of chances. I hope I’m proven wrong and it’s going to be a chaotic race.”

The pole-sitter has won seven of the past eight races this season, and overtaking proved difficult during Saturday’s sprint in Qatar due to fast corners that were difficult to follow, as well as the aerodynamics of current F1 cars creating lots of dirty air.

Piastri has dominated the sprints and will be hoping to repeat that performance on Sunday to take at least seven points away from Norris’ championship advantage.

“Holding the lead helps a lot in terms of clean air. Everything was under control in the sprint, so I’ll try to get a good start again and hopefully do more of the same,” the Australian said.

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

Verstappen said he needed a “bit of luck” to win the race. Due to tire concerns, the race has a tire limit of 25 laps and requires at least two pit stops.

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

“Some things are out of your control. Something crazy can happen behind your back, so you have to keep everything open.”

Sky Sports F1 Qatar GP Schedule

Sunday, November 30th
11:55am: F2 Feature Race
2:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP Build-up
4pm: Qatar Grand Prix
6pm: Checkered flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted’s Notes

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