Norris: Sprint pole 'one of my worst laps'

Lando Norris conceded his Sprint Shootout pole effort for the São Paulo Grand Prix Sprint was one of his worst laps in F1.

The McLaren driver managed to edge out Red Bull's Max Verstappen by just 0.061secs in the final segment to set the fastest lap of the session.

It marked a strong turnaround from Friday's qualifying session, where Norris finished in seventh place while Verstappen scored pole position for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Assessing his rebound, Norris said: “It's a great day. Honestly, it felt like one of the worst laps I've done so I'm a little bit surprised, but it's a good surprise.

“I feel like we made up for yesterday. It's my first pole in a long time, so I'm happy.”

Norris rates McLaren's sprint chances

Norris entered the weekend in strong form, scoring four podiums in the last five races amid McLaren's impressive development of its MCL60 car.

Red Bull has taken all but one sprint victory this year, with Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri prevailing on Saturday in Qatar.

“The Red Bulls are always quick,” added Norris. “Max is always quick.

“So it's not going to be an easy race, but the pace is strong so if we're going to have any chance I'll give it my all.”