Norris Looking For 'some Magic' To Beat Piastri

Dutch Grand Prix

Venue: Zandvoort Date: 31 August Race start: 14:00 BST connected Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra; unrecorded matter updates connected BBC Sport website and app

Lando Norris said he would beryllium looking for immoderate "magic" to effort to hit McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to triumph successful Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix.

Piastri pipped Norris to rod position by conscionable 0.012 seconds connected Saturday, and nan Australian heads Norris by 9 points successful nan title moreover though nan Briton has won 3 of nan past 4 races.

Overtaking is difficult astir nan twisty and constrictive Zandvoort circuit and Norris is concerned astir his prospects of winning nan race.

"It's going to return immoderate magic, immoderate bully strategy aliases unthinkable tyre redeeming aliases something," Norris said.

"But it's usually beautiful difficult to overtake successful nan first place. It's moreover harder to do that down your team-mate. So, I'll spot what I tin dream of tonight."

Norris won nan past title successful Hungary contempt a bad commencement that dropped him to 5th spot connected nan first thigh by switching to a one-stop strategy.

Piastri, who has won six races truthful acold this play to Norris' five, was incapable to walk him contempt closing connected him connected fresher tyres astatine nan extremity of nan race.

But Norris was not optimistic of his chances of a repetition successful nan Netherlands.

"Just a bummer (not to beryllium connected pole)," he said, "but not a batch I tin do now. My thigh was still beautiful good, 0.01secs is specified a mini margin. It is frustrating chiefly because it is simply a way that is beautiful overmuch intolerable to overtake on, truthful a batch of my chances are now gone."

Piastri had lagged down Norris each play done nan believe sessions, but dependable betterment and moving retired really to spell faster allowed him to sneak an separator erstwhile it mattered.

"You conscionable support chipping away," he said. "I conscionable improved nan parts wherever I was already not bad and made up nan quality that way."

There is nan imaginable of bedewed upwind successful nan race, and some McLaren drivers are free to conflict without squad orders.

That includes nan anticipation to take their ain strategy successful an effort to hit their team-mate, arsenic Norris did yet successfully successful Hungary.

His move to a one-stop successful Budapest was initially aimed astatine ensuring he hit Mercedes' George Russell to a podium finish, but nan strategy opened up for him and he was capable to usage it to triumph nan race.

Team main Andrea Stella said that Piastri had not had immoderate issues pinch nan measurement Hungary played retired and that some drivers were happy to transportation connected pinch this approach.

"Both drivers, Oscar included, accepted that there's a grade of variability successful racing," Stella said. "There's a level of variety of scenarios that tin realise and that not needfully are nether your control."

And nan Italian emphasised that they could not norm retired Red Bull's Max Verstappen successful 3rd spot affecting their race. A bully commencement from nan Dutchman could easy spot him walk astatine slightest 1 of nan McLaren drivers successful nan freestyle of nan first lap.

Stella said: "First point we person to do successful nan liking of nan squad and successful nan liking of Lando and Oscar is to make judge that we hit Max, who is not very far, he's 0.2secs distant from us.

"Based connected nan difficulties successful overtaking and nan truth that location could beryllium besides immoderate weather, first of each we person to make judge that we get nan champion consequence for nan squad pinch Lando and Oscar finishing perchance successful nan bid that nan car capacity would say, and astatine nan infinitesimal we tin spot that McLaren is nan fastest car.

"When it comes to nan options from a strategical constituent of position successful betwixt our 2 drivers, we do person immoderate rules for that.

"I'm not going to stock what rules they are but immoderate you person seen truthful acold successful position of really nan strategy has been utilised, it's ever been wrong our rules.

"So it's perfectly correct for lawsuit that location are deviations successful position of strategy.

"Here nan strategy is not acold betwixt a 1 and a two-stop, truthful I deliberation it will beryllium erstwhile again interesting, not only betwixt nan 2 McLaren drivers but besides pinch nan different drivers.

"Max, for instance, he has a caller (set of) soft (tyres) that he saved from qualifying and it could beryllium a beautiful powerful limb if you tin deploy this limb strategically astatine nan correct time."

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton had an improved play aft his struggles successful Hungary, wherever he said he was "just useless" aft he qualified 12th erstwhile team-mate Charles Leclerc was connected rod position.

Leclerc and Hamilton statement up sixth and seventh, pinch nan awesome Isack Hadjar successful nan Racing Bull 4th alongside Verstappen and Russell fifth.

Hamilton had led Leclerc each play done believe but mislaid retired by conscionable 0.05secs successful qualifying.

Hamilton said: "I tried to person a somewhat different attack to nan weekend. Some tweaks earlier I moreover sewage present and earlier nan weekend. It's been a batch smoother, nan car was a spot unpredictable yesterday but we person made advancement this play truthful I americium grateful for that.

"Definitely encouraging to person a bully consequence connected my broadside of nan car shed truthful I'm gladsome we're location aliases thereabouts but we're not wherever we want to be. 0.7secs disconnected connected a way for illustration this is simply a immense amount. We person to effort to understand that because Charles was P1 past time.

"I've been trying to summation much and much assurance and that is what's happened.

"It feels for illustration it's been 1 of nan astir coagulated days of nan twelvemonth and that's been to do pinch immoderate of nan improvements successful process, my attack and it's a small calmer overall.

"The squad did a awesome occupation done qualifying but we conscionable request much capacity from somewhere. I dream title gait will beryllium a spot amended and we tin effort and move forwards."