So when Norris planted his Carlin-run Dallara on pole position for the season-opening F2 races of 2018 it looked like business as usual.
“The first half of the season, I out-qualified my team mate every time,” Lando Norris reflected.
Norris’s pace over a single lap is just one weapon in his arsenal.
But his record against new team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr, who was beaten more often than not by Nico Hulkenberg at Renault last year, will be the measure of whether Norris has solved his qualifying slump in the off-season.
