Kimi Antonelli and George Russell finished 2-3 over an interrupted 24-lap Sprint with pace that put them not only ahead of their closest Constructors’ rival in Ferrari but also Red Bull, and in the position to compete closely with McLaren.
Combined, the Mercedes pair were within 0.081s of McLaren’s team average pace (although Piastri only logged 4 green racing laps prior to his race ending moment on the turn 3 kerb). On an individual level, Antonelli was Norris’ closest contender with pace just 0.074s off the McLaren driver on average and 0.164s quicker than his own teammate.
In the late stages, that pace coupled with the tyre delta between Norris on a fading soft in the lead and Antonelli following him on the more stable mediums left the rookie in a position to challenge Norris within his DRS. While it didn’t amount to an overtake in the tricky conditions, it left Lando Norris to comment that the Mercedes pair had been “very quick”.
In fact, the gap between Norris and Antonelli out front didn’t exceed 2.5 seconds over the entirety of the Sprint race – a stark contrast to the dominant pace Norris had shown in Mexico (albeit over a much shorter race distance).
However Norris also wasn’t too happy with the pace he’d shown over the 100km, saying “I was just expecting us to be a bit better honestly.” As qualifying for the grand prix painted the same picture as Sprint qualifying, leaving Norris on pole with Antonelli alongside him on the front row, the championship leader predicted that a similar level of pressure will be on him come Sunday’s race if the changes McLaren may have made during the parc fermé break don’t bring an improvement in race pace.
When asked whether he felt it would be a repeat of that over 30 second win margin he enjoyed in Mexico City, Norris replied, “I don’t think it’s going to be as simple.”
“Like we saw this morning, the Mercedes is very quick. They showed again now that they’re very quick so I’m not getting overly excited. I think we have a lot of work to do tonight to make sure they stay away from us.”
Antonelli isn’t a driver Norris has frequently raced out front so far this year, but the Sprint left him with the learning that “Kimi pushes all the way to the very end.” On a weekend where both of his championship rivals are, and have been, further back (Piastri will start from P4 but Verstappen from P16), the Mercedes pair represent the biggest threat to Norris’ chances of extending his lead beyond the 9-points it currently sits at.
“I think it’s going to be a big challenge tomorrow,” he said. “We need to see what the weather’s going to do again. So far, this weekend has been clean so I’m hoping they don’t ruin it!”
