Polesitter Lando Norris insisted he had nothing to offer at Sunday’s Hungary Grand Prix, while Nico Rosberg took credit for the pressure on McLaren to turn a front-row lock into a win.
Norris took his first Formula One victory at the Miami Grand Prix in May, but failed to add to his tally despite being in contention for victory in five of the six races that followed.
The Briton and his team have been criticised for failing to convert their Silverstone lead into a home win two weeks ago, but insist there will be no additional tension at the Hungaroring on Sunday despite being overtaken by team-mate Oscar Piastri after winning the world championship. Leader Max Verstappen is in second place.
“I don’t care,” Norris said after taking his third career pole position.
“Every qualifying is vital and every race is vital, so I don’t have to do it all of a sudden and I have to follow through on what I say. This is not the case. “
“We gave our best effort in each and every race. I think we showed smart speed and (had) some wonderful opportunities, and I know we missed some, but we don’t want to look back on all that. “
As the season officially enters its second part this weekend at round 13 of 24, Norris is Red Bull’s Verstappen with 84 points.
This margin could have been particularly smaller if Norris and McLaren had maximized their prospects in recent weeks, and also if there had not been a collision between the two men while fighting for the lead at AustriaArray, for which Verstappen was penalized but from which In the end he benefited. He finished fifth and the Briton retired.
McLaren is also well positioned to triumph over a 78-point deficit to Red Bull in the constructors’ standings, which has declined largely due to the dismal form of Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, who crashed in Q1 on Saturday.
Norris continued: “Every time we try to maximise every place, every point. The more we can try to catch Max, the more we can go up against Red Bull and the other manufacturers as a team, the more the better. “
“So there’s no point in seeking to beat or anything in particular, just passing out and doing what we do, because we do a smart job. “
Sky Sports F1 expert and 2016 world champion Rosberg says tension is “rising” at McLaren now that it is emerging as the fastest car on the grid.
“The pressure is on McLaren because they are the favourites,” Rosberg said.
“When you’re the favourite, that’s when the tension increases tremendously. Now they have it and all eyes are on them for Sunday.
“Also, they can also split their methods a bit, maybe Piastri if he manages to stay ahead of Verstappen after the first two corners.
“In theory, it’s up to them to lose. “
Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff says McLaren wants “mental toughness” to overcome its recent mistakes on Sunday.
“You have to have so much intellectual strength that we know they’ve already made some mistakes in some Grands Prix this year,” Schiff said.
“We’re pretty sure they had strong discussions, because you can’t waste race wins like they did at Silverstone and not have strong discussions.
“If it’s too ingrained in their minds and they approach it with a little bit of caution on Sunday, it’s probably not a smart thing to do.
“They have to be strong about it. They will have to have confidence in their decisions. It’s up to them to win as well as to lose. “
Whether it was a joke or not to control and deflect tension and expectations from his own team, McLaren boss Andrea Stella warned Sky Sports F1 after qualifying that it was Verstappen who remained the “favourite” for the 70-lap race.
“Max is the challenge and not just the challenge, Max is the reference,” Stella suggested.
“We’ll do our thing and he’s still the favourite for Sunday, but we’ll try to go through the win. “
Not that Verstappen himself saw it after McLaren also set the tone on Friday.
“Then you will have noticed another time sheet!” replied the Dutchman.
And while far from ruling out his own chances of a third successive Hungary GP win, Verstappen said it would be “realistic and not stay here and spread false hope” about Red Bull’s prospects.
“I don’t know. My long runs were okay, but they were nothing special,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“Normally McLaren is even more powerful in racing because that’s where I think their car comes to life. So I don’t know, let’s find out. “
“It’s much hotter, I don’t know if it’s good or bad for us, but we’ll see. “
After helping McLaren to its first front row lockout since the 2012 Brazilian GP by overtaking Verstappen with his second fastest lap in Q3, Piastri can play a pivotal role in the final race results.
The Australian, who is 47 points ahead of Norris in the championship, has yet to win a Grand Prix in his 18 months in F1 and has no doubt that he is “definitely free to win the race. “
He showed that he would try to take advantage of any and all opportunities to take the lead, while suggesting that he is aware that McLaren’s pit wall could simply discuss tactics with the drivers if the team found itself in a dominant position at some point. moment.
“If at some point in the race we are in a controlled one-two, then of course we will start having those discussions,” he said.
“But there are no team orders before the start of the race, that’s for sure.
“If I have the opportunity to take the lead, I will try to take it. Of course, it goes without saying that we have to stay in first or second car. That’s the minimum. “
Sunday in July 21:20: Featured race F39:00: Featured race F211:00: Porsche Super Cup 12:30: Grand Prix Sunday – Preparation for the Hungarian GP 14:00: HUNGARY GRAND PRIX 16:00: Checkered flag : from the Hungarian GP 5:00 p. m. : Ted’s notebook
Coverage of the Hungary Grand Prix begins on Sunday on Sky Sports F1 at 12:30 p. m. with the lights off at 2 p. m. Stream any and all F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription: no contract, cancel anytime