Lando Norris feels like ‘the old me’ after dominant Austrian GP pole position

Lando Norris will start from pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix, a position he snatched from the competition by over half a second.

Despite the strength of the McLaren, Norris hasn’t had it easy this season, but this pole has him celebrating the return of “the old me.”

The old Lando Norris is back with an Austrian GP pole

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

After being informed that he had indeed snagged pole position for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Lando Norris took to the radio to exclaim, “Yes! Thank you, guys.

“Nice to see the old me back every now and then, huh?”

Despite entering the F1 2025 season as the championship favorite thanks to his strong performance at the end of the previous year, Lando Norris has found things more challenging than expected.

Though McLaren has clearly brought a strong car, Norris has explained that it doesn’t exactly suit his driving style. So, despite winning the first race of the year in Australia and taking an early championship lead, the Briton did indeed lose his grasp on the top of the standings when teammate Oscar Piastri began to find his stride.

In Austria, though, things seemed to click. McLaren has arrived with a new upgrade package and, despite missing the first free practice session of the weekend to allow rookie Alex Dunne a shot behind the wheel, Norris has looked absolutely dominant ever since.

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Norris cut a chuffed figure in the post-qualifying press conference hosted by the FIA, playing it cool despite clearly being pleased with his performance.

Asked to analyze how close his final Q3 lap was to being absolutely perfect, Norris admitted, “It’s impossible to say, but as close as I would probably ask for.

“In all the places I could be close to being in the gravel or over the limit, I feel like I was. It was a very good lap, I think, improved in in every corner, and especially around here, you know, with the high speed Turn 6, Turn 7, 9 and 10, especially in quali, you know, you’ve got to commit.

“It’s exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. So yeah, again, rewarding when things go right, like they they did today. To put the laps in that I did today, I was very happy with. So, yeah, it was, was a fun qualifying.”

Norris topped the charts all session long, setting a lap good enough for pole position on his first Q3 run before extended his lead in his second run — but that promising first go doesn’t mean Norris was able to take it easy the second time out.

“The others were not far behind,” he said. “Even the Ferraris and Charles [Leclerc] was a bit close there.

“I think all the way through quali, the gap to some of the others was bigger than I was expecting. Like, they were not miles away in FP3, but then as soon as we went out for quali, we seemed a good step ahead. So I wasn’t too worried.”

He did note that he was concerned teammate Piastri might find the speed to pip him in the final lap, which mean the pressure was still on.

“I still knew there were places to improve,” he said.

Ever one to keep himself humble, Norris said that “it’s very satisfying” to snag a pole position as dominant as this one in Austria, but that when it comes to the rest of the season, “it’s about consistency.”

“Everyone can be a hero in one weekend,” he said, “but it’s progress, it’s steps forward. I’m very happy with today, but it’s still a long journey, it’s a long season.

“The job I needed to do today, I did, and it doesn’t make up for the last few weekends or anything, but I did it today, and that’s what mattered.”

Norris explained that his car has felt strong and quick all weekend — and that the McLaren team was even a bit surprised to find that they were stronger than expected.

Still, he said “It was easily my best qualifying of the year, from a delivery point of view.

“It was easily the best lap I’ve done for this whole season, probably even better than Monaco, honestly. Not as, maybe, as an exciting lap as Monaco, but definitely a better put together lap.”

Some of that comes down to the car — to the new upgrades that have improved upon an already strong machine. Some of it comes down to McLaren, which has provided a strong support system for both of its drivers. But some of it, Norris says, has come down to himself — to improving his own mindset and feeling comfortable in the car.

“I think that’s reassuring for myself, which is a very, very nice feeling,” he said.

Norris is lining up on pole position for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix with the confidence that “a very good day” is set to follow on Sunday. And with just 20 points separating him from teammate Oscar Piastri at the lead of the championship standings, a win would go a long way to continuing to level the playing field.