Lando Norris was incredibly frustrated by his “very bad job” in qualifying for Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix as he took eighth despite thinking a front row was possible.
The reigning world champion will share row four with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, despite briefly taking sixth with his second Q3 run before that time was struck off because he had exceeded track limits at Turn 19. The time he had set on his first run was only good for eighth.
It continues a disappointing run for McLaren which has failed to score a podium in the last three grands prix, having been outdeveloped by Red Bull behind Mercedes and Ferrari.
But despite the weaknesses of the MCL40 in straightline speed and slow-corner performance, Norris still reckons he could have achieved much more in Austin.
“The car was very strong today in terms of pace,” he said. “Insanely difficult to drive.
“Probably the hardest car I've ever had to drive in my life. But good enough for P2, so I should be P2 and I'm P8, so clearly, I did a very bad job today.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Chris Graythen / Getty Images
So Norris still reckons a good points return is possible in Sunday’s race, especially having topped Q1 - though many others used medium rubber and not softs.
Nevertheless, the Briton ultimately qualified a second off Mercedes polesitter Kimi Antonelli and 0.835s behind second-placed Max Verstappen for Red Bull.
“The car was quick, it's just nasty to drive,” added Norris. “I saw a good result, it's possible. I think I still have faith that we can get a good result tomorrow.
“I don't know how easy it's going to be to overtake and things like that. But, for a lot of the track, we seem on par.
“We struggle a lot in sector three and there's very slow speed. We're pretty dreadful, honestly. But tomorrow is a new day.”
What makes it more frustrating for the 26-year-old is that McLaren has brought the first stage of its final upgrade package of the year to Texas, featuring a revised front suspension geometry and an altered diffuser profile.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
“We try and improve it every time,” said Norris. “We improve the car, we bring upgrades.
“But it's something we're not completely... I don't know, it might be that the car is just not quick enough and therefore there's always hope that I can do a mega lap and I can be P1.
“But you improve three corners and the other three are a nightmare all of a sudden. It's just impossible. It's an impossible car to achieve the perfection that I want to achieve at the minute.
“Which is a struggle, because I want to go for pole, and I need to tell myself to settle for a P5, and I don't want to do that.”
The woes were present on Piastri’s side as well, with the Australian claiming “I’ve not been anywhere near as competitive as what I wanted to be”.
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