Lando Norris took a humorous jab at Joylon Palmer during the post-qualifying scrum as the racer highlighted how the headwind hindered him and cost him a few hundredths. The McLaren were close to each other throughout qualifying.
However, a clear pattern emerged during the free practice sessions and in Q1 and Q2, which was the fact that the Brit had a slight advantage over his teammate. In Q3, both racers were neck and neck on their first laps, and in the end, it edged towards Oscar Piastri, who defeated Lando Norris by a time that was a bit quicker.
The gap decreased to the British driver losing to Oscar Piastri in the final sector, where the Australian picked up a tow from the Racing Bulls in front of him while Lando Norris encountered a headwind.
Talking to Joylon Palmer after the session, Lando Norris took a cheeky dig at the Commentator (who had claimed in the F1 Nation Podcast that the Brit had been lucky this season) and highlighted how the direction of the wind hurt him. He said,
"It’s close, it’s been close the whole weekend, so easily could go one way or the other. I guess a little bit disappointed that I’m not on pole, but it's close. Were still some decent laps, so not the end of the world either. With the wind like this, a lot of it’s down to luck as well. Even with all the luck I’ve been having."
On Sunday, Lando Norris would start the race on the front row along with Oscar Piastri, with Max Verstappen in P3. The British racer won the race last season in dominant fashion,but unlike 2024, he got his teammate in an equally competitive car as his main rival.