It’s time to deliver. That’s the inescapable task facing Lando Norris if he is to have any chance of winning the world championship after taking a fabulous pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen, driving an inferior Red Bull equally brilliantly, qualified second, a yawning three-and-a-half tenths back from the Briton. Oscar Piastri, in the second McLaren, buttressed the pace of the front-rowers by taking half-a-second longer around blustery Zandvoort.
To win, Norris will almost certainly have to overturn his undesirable record of having not finished the first lap in front on the three previous occasions he started from the front.
That means a good getaway on the 235-yard sprint into Tarzan, as the banked first corner is called. He surely needs to come out of there leading, a feat that would then allow him to channel the speed of his McLaren across the 72 laps.
Should he fail and Verstappen extends his 78-point lead, it is difficult to see a way back in the nine races that will remain once the circus leaves the Netherlands.
Lando Norris has a huge chance to claw back points in the title race with Max Verstappen
The McLaren star needs to get off to a good start, something he has struggled with from pole
Desperate then? Of course he is. But he was having none of that kind of talk last night. ‘Desperation doesn’t lead to anything,’ he reasoned. ‘I want to win and am working hard for that, but I am not desperate.
‘It is obvious my starts have not been my forte. But they have not been bad. I have just missed out in a couple of races, when I was on the front row, and that’s made it look worse than it is.’
Another statistic he may not care for is that nobody has beaten Verstappen on his home track since the venue returned to the calendar in 2021.
The grandstands cheered the local hero hard, believing he might have done enough for pole – before Norris came through the seaside wind. He was the only man to dip under 70 seconds.
Questions are being asked about how well Norris is dealing with the nascent championship pressure. Verstappen stood up for his pal, saying: ‘Lando is very, very fast and that is what you need.
‘It will only get better with experience. I have been fighting for world championships for longer but when the team is working well and you are driving well, it comes to you. I never doubted him.’
Lewis Hamilton’s poor day went from bad to worse. The seven-time world champion could only manage 12th before being demoted three grid places for impeding Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
In contrast, George Russell was fourth quickest in the other Mercedes.
Max Verstappen stood up for Norris amid questions over his ability to handle the pressure
He was three-and-a-half tenths back from the 24-year-old despite the home support
Lewis Hamilton only placed his car 12th but that is no longer a huge surprise to viewers
Logan Sargeant did not take part in qualifying after his car caught fire during practice
Logan Sargeant sat out qualifying after his car caught fire during practice. The American lost control of his Williams in wet conditions and hit the barriers hard before spinning 270 degrees. Bright orange flames burst out from the rear of his battered machine.
The car was not mendable in time, so Sargeant will start from the back of the grid on Sunday. Which, sadly, is not an uncommon experience for him.
Sargeant’s team-mate Alex Albon was later disqualified for running an illegal floor. Oh dear, embarrassment all round at Williams.