In the Friday evening qualifying session to determine the Sunday GP grid, Ferrari racer Charles Leclerc topped the times with a 1m34.723s final flying lap to pip Norris by 0.13s.
They were helped by Max Verstappen having his lap time binned for exceeding track limits at Turn 19 after he ran wide on exit. The Red Bull driver was subsequently demoted to sixth place.
With Verstappen out the way, Norris says pole position was up for grabs even if his expectation ahead of the session had not even been to make the front row of the grid.
“I'm happy. It's been a good day,” he said. “Probably not expected from the end result so a good bonus for the whole team.
“I didn't make as many mistakes as I made [in Qatar], which is a good thing. But I think we had it today. I think there was enough in it to get pole.
“I know Charles said he made a few mistakes, but so did I. So, it's a bit of a shame. That one opportunity maybe we missed again, but I'm so happy, nevertheless.”
Norris explained that he had left time on the table through the Turn 11 left-hander that leads onto the long back straight.
Source: Autosport