“Tractor to a Top 5 Car”: Lando Norris’ Odds Defying Performance Leaves Papaya Army Elated as McLaren & Zak Brown Celebrate

Qualifying in Spain has turned out to be quite a roller coaster ride. Yes, Max Verstappen has once again taken the pole position in the most sublime fashion. However, it is not the talk of the town. The real headline grabber is Lando Norris and his final flying lap that put him in P3. The Papaya Army, who was until now this season taking Zak Brown & Co. to the task, finally has something to rejoice about.

The start of the 2023 season hasn’t been one to remember for team McLaren. Even before the start of the season, team CEO Zak Brown told the media that they were running behind on their development targets. All the negative results at the beginning of the season saw Zak bear the brunt of fans’ anger. That showed in the results as well. Both Lando and Oscar Piastri struggled to get even into Q3 on Saturdays. However, the recent upgrades seem to be paying off. More so for Norris than his Australian rookie partner.

Papaya Army rejoices as Lando Norris takes P3 on the starting grid in Spain

The qualifying has turned out to be a chaotic event, to say the least. First, drivers were found struggling for grip as many went into the gravel traps one by one. The incident caused after Valtteri Bottas’ spin even caused the red flags to come out. Later, giants like Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc struggled to make it in Q2. While Perez barely made it through, Leclerc couldn’t. Later, the Mexican driver failed to make it to Q2 and so did George Russell.

The biggest spotlight grabber, however, was left for the final moments. Norris was the third fastest, while Lewis Hamilton was still left to do one final flying lap. As the Mercedes star completed his lap, Norris’ race engineer told him he was P3. Left in shock, the McLaren driver exclaimed, “What still?!”

Take a look at how fans reacted to the mesmerisingly quick lap that put him in the second row.

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Do you think Lando Norris can maintain this position on Sunday and deliver the team’s first podium of the season?