Lando Norris downplays concerns after Belgian pole: 'Everyone was pretty worried'

Lando Norris has downplayed concerns after claiming pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, recognising that "everyone was pretty worried" 24 hours earlier. 

Oscar Piastri stunned the F1 paddock after securing Sprint pole at Spa-Francorchamps by five-tenths of a second, whilst Norris was even further adrift. 

However, fast forward to qualifying for the grand prix, and it was Norris who came out on top by almost one-tenth of a second.

Following a crucial pole given the wet forecast for Sunday, Norris stressed that his confidence remained high even after a heavy Friday defeat to his team-mate.

"It was a decent lap, of course," said Norris. "So, yeah, happy. I know everyone was pretty worried after yesterday, I wasn't even that far off. It was just a couple little issues that we had. 

"So I was confident enough yesterday and confident coming into today. So it's nice to see that I could get back to the top."

Norris found considerable pace in qualifying, given his significant deficit to Piastri, who he also finished behind in the sprint race. 

However, the 25-year-old insisted that the majority of his time loss on Friday was down to a lack of slipstream.

Asked where the time was found, Norris answered: "Three tenths is just slipstream and not being first out the pit lane. "That was nothing to worry about, but people like to make a lot of things up.

"But no, I felt good. The car has been been flying all weekend. Oscar has been doing a good job all weekend. So we're pushing each other a lot. 

"Like you said, it's tough, because you kind of see where your strengths and weaknesses are easily, and you learn from each other quickly. So it's a good but tough battle that we have at the minute."