Norris braced for 'difficult decisions' with wet Belgian Sprint weekend on the horizon

Lando Norris believes teams will face “difficult decisions” at Spa-Francorchamps, with wet weather expected across the Sprint weekend.

The Belgian Grand Prix often sees rain fall on at least one day, adding to the challenge of the iconic track, but the forecast for the coming weekend suggests a 60% chance of precipitation on both Friday and Sunday, with a significantly lower chance on Saturday.

With cars entering parc fermé conditions following Sprint Qualifying on Friday, and again following Qualifying on Saturday, this means teams could be forced to gamble between a dry and wet setup on both occasions – risking a weaker qualifying position in known conditions, for a potentially better race result in unknown weather the following day.

Norris has enjoyed the strongest return of any driver this term in mixed conditions, with his win last time out in Silverstone the latest example of his prowess.

Asked ahead of the weekend how much focus goes on the Sprint compared to the Grand Prix, Norris said: “It could be tricky now because of the rain, so I think you might have to make some more difficult decisions in terms of tyres and things like that.

“There’s always a lot more points on Sunday, so I think most of the focus is always there, but if you’re one position higher or lower in the Sprint race, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll always take a bit less risk there, but Sunday is the main day.”

Reflecting on his success in wet conditions this year, he added: “To be honest, it’s not always the wet. I feel I’m always good in intermediate conditions, when it’s wet to dry or dry to wet.

"The full wet conditions are quite different, but I’ve had good moments here in the wet. Even when I had my crash a few years ago in Q3, I was still P1 in Q1, P1 in Q2, and then P1 in the wall.

“I’m British, and maybe that helps. I’ve had very good races this year in the wet, that’s true. But all the qualifyings have been in the dry when it’s been that scenario, so it’s tough. There isn’t an easy answer.

“I enjoy these conditions still. Maybe never the most fun because it can be quite scary at times, but Spa in the wet is normal, so I’m ready to go.”

McLaren has battled multiple contenders at the front of the field this season, with Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari shining in different conditions and on different layouts. Given the uncertainty surrounding the coming weekend, championship leader Oscar Piastri struggled to point to which team he expects will provide the greatest challenge this time out.

“It could be all of them,” said Piastri. “Ferrari in Silverstone were very strong. I think the race didn’t go to plan for them, but their pace across the whole of the weekend was very strong.

"Red Bull and Max have been very strong here in the past, and Mercedes, when it’s cold and the right conditions, they did have a one-two for about an hour last year, so it’s a track where they have been quick before.

“It’s a track where our competition is going to be strong across the board, and we need to try and focus on ourselves and maximise what we have.”