Lando Norris gives a bizarre reason for missing out on pole at Silverstone in response to Lewis Hamilton

Lando Norris turned out to be the third-best British driver at Silverstone after he qualified in P3 on Saturday. However, post-race, the McLaren driver had a tongue-in-cheek reason behind his inability to finish in pole position, which was not at all related to his performance.

George Russell, with a brilliant final flying lap, denied his teammate Lewis Hamilton and compatriot Norris the pole position at the 2024 British Grand Prix. The 26-year-old was nearly two-tenths faster than the other two Britons on the grid.

Russell is in the form of his after he claimed the pole in Canada, won the race in Austria, and on Saturday, took the pole position in front of his home crowd. However, Russell's pole was a bit of a surprise amid the presence of the high-flying Norris.

During the press conference following qualifying, Hamilton responded to a question from the Mirror F1 reporter about why the Silverstone track is a good hunting ground for British drivers by saying,

“Roast dinners.”

Replying to this in humorous fashion, Norris stated,

“I don’t have roast dinners… maybe that’s why I’m not on pole!”

George Russell clocked 1:25.819 on the timesheet, while his teammate secured 1:25.990. McLaren's Norris marked 1:26.030 to qualify third. Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri qualified in P4 and P5, respectively.

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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell wary of Lando Norris

George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren pose for a photo in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 06, 2024 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell can have the front row all to themselves, but they are well aware of Lando Norris' threat. The McLaren driver is in brilliant form and would like to continue the momentum at Silverstone on Sunday.

Speaking about this, Hamilton said in the post-qualifying interview,

"I think the car felt great. It was just about getting the tyre temperatures in the right place. I feel really confident about the car tomorrow. If we can work together we can keep Lando behind."

Russell's thoughts were not very different from those of his teammate. Speaking about the same, the 26-year-old said,

"The car at the moment is feeling good. It really came alive in qualifying. It's going to be tight with Lando."

Lando Norris suffered a DNF and threw away points aplenty in Austria last time around. It is reasonable to assume that he will not take the same route at Silverstone and look to win the British Grand Prix.