"Drugged up" Norris fearing painful Styrian GP will be "bigger challenge"

A "drugged up" Lando Norris will battle through the pain barrier during Sunday's Styrian Grand Prix.

Norris has conceded to requiring painkillers to get him through qualifying at the Red Bull Ring that was dominated by appalling wet conditions, and he will again require them for the race.

The McLaren driver still qualified a respectable sixth, three places behind team-mate Carlos Sainz, but with a three-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags in the first practice session on Friday will now start from ninth.

Explaining the issue, Norris told Sky Sports F1: "I won't say what it is. It's not so much my back, it is something inside and when I am hitting the brakes and cornering I am getting the compression from the g-force and it's just causing a lot of pain.

"We have tried to figure out what it is, it is a bit better today, more because I am drugged up slightly, but I think it's going to be a bigger challenge tomorrow."

Despite the problem, Norris still feels he should be higher up the grid, which would have given him an easier time for the race.

"You know when you should have done a better job," said Norris. "Sometimes you are far off and you don't know why or how and it's annoying, but sometimes you know for a fact you should have done a better job.

"My last lap was my best lap almost when the conditions were at their worst and I had a little oversteer coming round turn eight and I lost four or five tenths of a second in that last corner.

"When you know you should have done a better job, that's the frustrating thing. Of course, I am happy with P6, its better than almost all my other results but three places with a grid penalty, it is nicer to be where Carlos is and then drop back to where I am."

Before you go...

Leclerc given three-place grid penalty for impeding Kvyat

Hamilton's pole lap "not from this world" - Mercedes boss Wolff

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