Norris went into the third session of final qualifying on the back foot after his first lap was deleted for track limit infringements at turn four, where he had all four wheels off the track.
Norris' teammate and Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri was second, enabling McLaren to lock out the front row for the second straight race, following 2024's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Pretty happy. It’s obviously great to start the year on the font row — only one position back from what I would’ve liked,” Piastri said. “Just not quite enough in Q3 but I’m pretty happy with a solid start.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the defending world champion, claimed third, shrugging off pre-season pace concerns for the team about its RB21 car.
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AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
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