Lando Norris defeated before the Qatar GP Sprint: "It's impossible to overtake"

While he has the opportunity to secure his first world title this weekend, Lando Norris will certainly have to work harder than expected. The Briton had been on a roll in recent weeks, racking up pole positions and victories at a blistering pace, even overtaking his teammate. Oscar piastri, which nevertheless had a comfortable lead at the end of the summer.

But the Australian turned things around in Qatar by securing pole position for the Sprint race ahead of the Mercedes George Russell. Lando Norris, meanwhile, had to settle for third place after missing his last attempt, thus losing any opportunity to overtake his garage neighbor on the timesheets.

"I had the pace, but I made a mistake in the last corner." the Bristol native is furious, speaking to our colleagues at Sky Sports. "I simply wasn't able to make it happen." Now Norris needs to have a great Sprint race to try and catch Oscar Piastri, but to do that he will first have to get past George Russell, who has no intention of making it easy for him.

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"I would be stupid not to try to win, but it's impossible to overtake, so I think I'll probably finish third." Norris anticipates this with surprising defeatism. "Overtaking George Russell at the finish line is probably the best I could hope for."

A speech lacking a certain serenity and certainty at the start of a weekend so crucial for him. To have any hope of being crowned world champion at the Qatar Grand Prix, Norris needs to gain at least two points on Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen over the whole weekend. The simplest solution would be to win on Sunday, but beware: neither the Australian nor the Dutchman will let themselves be beaten without trying everything.

Join us on Saturday at 15pm French time to follow the Sprint race live on AUTOhebdo.fr.