Conditions were treacherous, the session starting after heavy rain on a track wet enough for the extreme rain tyres, which almost all drivers used during the first two sessions.
Norris wasn’t especially fast on the extreme wet tyres, but once he put on the intermediate tires in the final session he was consistently the fastest driver on track.
Verstappen, normally so strong in wet conditions, was not on par with the Brit, but his second place on the grid makes him a serious threat for the lead into the first corner of the race, given his generally aggressive start to the race.
Norris survived a wobble on his final lap when he hit the curb at the chicane of Turns 14, 15 and 16, but was still fast enough for pole while others behind him were affected by a yellow flag caused by Piastri as he attempted to negotiate with Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar on the inside, forcing him to run wide.
“That was stressful, stressful as hell,” Norris said. “I didn’t know anyone else would get a lap after me. The first two sectors were good. As soon as you hit the curb a little bit wrong, it’s tricky, breaking one way and then the other, but good enough for pole.”
“No one had driven here in the wet before. After Q1, every corner you felt like you could crash in every corner. One lap at a time. It was a tough lap.”
