MISTAKES COST ME POLE SPOT, ADMITS LANDO

LANDO Norris admitted mistakes cost him pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix - as championship rival Oscar Piastri secured top spot to deal a blow to the British driver's bid of winning back-to-back races for the first time.

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McLaren were in a class of one in qualifying for the ninth round of a campaign which looks increasingly set to come down to a battle between team-mates Norris and Piastri for the biggest prize in motor racing.

Norris ended a poor run over one lap to take pole in Monaco a week ago before going on to claim his second win of the campaign and reducing Piastri’s championship lead to just three points.

But Norris has never won consecutive races in Formula One, and his hopes of building on his Monte Carlo triumph were dealt a setback in Barcelona with Piastri taking an emphatic pole. Piastri’s advantage of 0.209 seconds is the biggest of the season so far.

Norris held a slender advantage of 0.017 sec after the first runs in Q3 and although he improved with his final attempt, Norris conceded his lap was scrappy, and it was Piastri in the other papaya car who soared to the top of the order.

"Oscar drove very well but the pace was easily there today," said Norris. "Sometimes you don’t put the lap in. I know where I lost that time. I made a mistake at Turn 1 and on the exit of Turn 4.