As Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren appeared to be doing everything possible to increase the pressure on their biggest rival.
After the session ended, Max Verstappen expressed frustration that he encountered a car at the end of both his flying laps in Q3. On both occasions, the car belong to Norris.
The McLaren driver was careful not to impede his rival. However it appears to be more than coincidence that Verstappen came across his closest rival in the championship at the same point on the track in both his final runs.
Norris radio: Q3 run one
In Q3, with rain threatening, McLaren sent Norris out for his first run as Verstappen was nearing the end of his out-lap. As Norris was required to stick to the maximum delta time on his out-lap, and Verstappen was on a push lap, McLaren would have been able to estimate when and where on the track the pair would meet.
Over the course of Norris’ out-lap they kept him well aware of Verstappen’s position. The team would ordinarily need to do this to avoid Norris impeding Verstappen, but the messages began earlier and were more frequent than was needed to achieve this.
By ensuring Verstappen passed Norris between turns 13 and 14, the Red Bull driver may have been slightly distracted. He would also hand Norris the opportunity to gain a slipstream from him as the lap began, handing him the psychological disadvantage of knowing he had inadvertently helped his closest rival.
| Joseph | Norris is approaching pit exit Verstappen lead car, six-seven. |
| Joseph | Leaving pits Verstappen 11 |
| Joseph | Turn one Verstappen in 12 |
| Joseph | Approaching turn two 13 |
| Joseph | Turn five We still expect rain in four minutes time. Verstappen turn one. |
| Joseph | Turn nine Verstappen in turn four. There are basically two cars to go ahead: Tsunoda and then Alonso’s in 12. |
| Joseph | Turn 11 Verstappen’s just left five |
| Joseph | Turn 12 No reports of rain yet. Verstappen turn nine. One car ahead to go. |
| Joseph | Turn 13 Verstappen turn 12. |
| Joseph | Verstappen passes Norris between turns 13 and 14, Norris begins his flying lap 13 |
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Norris radio: Q3 run two
Norris’ first effort put him two-tenths of a second ahead of Verstappen. The Red Bull driver was the first of the two to run again in Q3, and McLaren sent Norris out at almost exactly the same time as before relative to Verstappen.
On this occasion Norris was slightly further ahead of Verstappen on the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…