After a disappointing third-place finish in the 2024 United States Grand Prix Sprint Race, McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris will start Sunday’s race from pole position, just ahead of title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing.
The twenty-four-year-old, who currently sits 54 points behind championship leader Verstappen, produced a stunning lap time of 1:32.330 during his opening run in Saturday’s third qualifying session, outperforming Verstappen by just 0.031 seconds. Ultimately, it was this first lap that secured Norris his sixth (seventh with the inclusion of the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint) start from pole this season, as double waved yellow flags, brought out in the last minute of qualifying after Mercedes’ George Russell crashed into the barriers at Turn 19, prevented any improvement by the remaining drivers.
During the track interview after the qualifying session, Norris spoke about the “beautiful” lap that had earned him pole position. He stated that he had “put everything on the line” and admitted that he did not think that he would have been able to significantly improve his lap time had he been able to complete his final lap.
“It was a beautiful lap.
“I was not going to go much quicker than what I did.
“You know when you just do a lap, well you know… When you just do a lap and you think, ‘damn, it’s going to be tough to beat that’. But I put everything out on the line.
“And it’s what we needed to do,” added Norris, before acknowledging that McLaren had struggled to match the pace of their rivals Red Bull and Scuderia Ferrari throughout the weekend.
“We’ve been on the back foot pretty much the whole weekend. We’ve not had the pace of the Ferraris or the Red Bulls. So, I had to do something. And today, I did that.
“So yeah, a cool lap and a nice way to start the race tomorrow.”
Despite his optimism, Norris admitted that it was a challenge to return to a “qualifying mindset” after the earlier sprint race, especially due to the high-speed, bumpy nature of the track at the Circuit of the Americas. However, he described the track as being “exciting” and claimed that it was one that “puts a smile” on a driver’s face, especially when he was quickest.
“It is. Around here it is because it’s a lot faster. And this is one of the tracks where inside you’re like, ‘damn, this is fast’.
“And it’s exciting. And it just gives you a good feeling. It’s bumpy and it’s fast, especially Sector 1, so it puts a smile on your face.
“And definitely ending quickest puts a bigger smile on your face too.”
While Norris acknowledged that the United States Grand Prix weekend had been “tough” for McLaren, he stated that he believed that they had done what was necessary to optimise their performance.
“So, a tough day, a tough weekend for us.
“But we changed quite a bit. I think we reviewed everything we could, and we made the improvements we needed to make.”
However, Norris admitted that despite the team’s efforts, they had not been the quickest car in qualifying and claimed that he had been lucky to be able to hold onto pole position.
“Maybe we weren’t the quickest car out there today. Carlos said he was going to go quicker. Max was going to go quicker. So, I’m lucky and I’ll take it.”
During the United States Grand Prix Post-Qualifying Press Conference, Norris again spoke about the qualifying lap that had earned him pole position, describing it as “a very nice lap” and potentially the best of his career. However, he stated that he had set the bar too high with his first lap, as he would have known that he would not have been able to significantly improve on his second lap.
“It was the best of probably my career, I think. Yeah, it was just a very nice lap.
“I kind of set the bar too high because on my second lap, I was like, ‘guys, I don’t think I’m going to improve much here’.”
He added that the lap “came together perfectly” but described it as being a result of him risking “a little bit more” and giving “that little extra” as he had struggled quite significantly, despite the team having made improvements to the MCL38 after the Singapore Grand Prix.
“So yeah, I mean, I got everything out of the car.
“We changed a good amount from the sprint race into quali today now and definitely took a step forward. But man, I was still struggling a lot.
“So, I just knew I had to risk a little bit more and give it that little extra. And it just came together perfectly.”
However, Norris reiterated that he would not have been able to repeat a lap of such quality and admitted that he had not expected to retain pole position.
“But it was definitely not a lap I could have repeated. So, I’m very happy because I really wasn’t expecting to be here today.”
When asked where he had found the time to put together his fastest lap, Norris stated that he had found “just a bit everywhere” and had relied on a good start, braking, and a smooth performance in the final sector to make up the deficits between himself and Red Bull’s Verstappen.
“I mean, it was just a bit everywhere, honestly. But of course, the high speed is a little bit where we struggle a touch compared to the Red Bulls, especially, you know.
“Max has been extremely quick in the first sector and the high speed. So, trying to limit that a little bit more was a good start. And then just the braking. The final sector, you know, from 12 to 16.
“As soon as one part goes wrong, it can all fall away quite quickly.
“And again, just hooked everything up, probably the first time all weekend and probably the last. But yeah, it just came together perfectly. So, it was a very, very good lap. I’d probably say quite confidently the best of my career.”
Later in the press conference, Norris was asked about what had appeared to be a snap at Turn 19 and whether that area of the track had been one which had required him to take additional risk. While Norris did admit that he had been “pushing everywhere”, he stated that his mistake was a common one amongst the drivers, as perfect timing was necessary to stay on track through the corner.
“Yes, I mean, I was just pushing everywhere, but yesterday in quali… I probably did what Max did in his first [run].
“As soon as you miss the apex, you have to give up the corner because you’re going to go off. It’s basically a guarantee. It’s a hard one to get right.
“You have to time it perfectly. Turn in too early, hit the kerb. Too late, you miss it and you’re off.”
However, he confirmed that he had had to take additional risk at Turn 19, as it was one of the corners where McLaren had underperformed compared to Red Bull.
“But it’s a corner, again, where in general we’ve been a bit down to Red Bull. Red Bull are very quick in these faster corners. And as one of them, I just had to risk that a little bit more.”
The McLaren driver admitted that his drive through Turn 19 has been “on the edge” but stated that without taking that and similar risks, he may not have gotten pole position.
“It was close, it was on the edge. But it’s what I needed today. Quite simple.
“I think the gap was 0.03, I think, to Max. And without some of these little bits where maybe some people didn’t use all of the track on that kind of thing, today I had to and I needed to, and it got me pole.
“My performance engineer will be very happy with me.”
Norris was also asked whether the radio message from his race engineer William ‘Will’ Joseph just before the start of his first Q3 lap had improved his confidence, and subsequently, helped him to produce the lap that would ultimately earn him a starting position at the front of the grid for Sunday’s race.
While the McLaren driver acknowledged that such messages from his race engineer were rare, due to Norris not usually liking “that kind of stuff”, he admitted that he had “probably” needed his race engineer’s comments “a little bit” as he had been lacked confidence in the car after having struggled with it throughout the weekend. However, Norris added that he did not think that he had produced the stellar lap that he had because of his race engineer’s words, joking he would “boost his ego too much” if he claimed otherwise.
“Yeah, it’s a very rare thing. He knows I don’t like that kind of stuff normally.
“It’s just because I said after, I think, Q2, I was just not confident at all in the car. I was bouncing everywhere. And I just lacked confidence at that point to put a good lap together. And I’ve been struggling in Turn 1, been struggling in Turn 12.
“But we were there or thereabouts. It was more just let’s get a good lap in and be there. So that’s what I did.
“Whether or not what I did was because of Will’s comments, I’d probably say no, otherwise I’ll boost his ego too much.
“But, yeah, it was just that I probably needed it a little bit just because I was struggling a lot with the car, and we’ve been a bit off this weekend and I just… A little kick never hurts sometimes.”
Norris also spoke about his expectations for Sunday’s race. During the press conference, Norris was asked if the increased rate of tyre degradation on the MCL38 was a concern ahead of the race. While he acknowledged the tyres were a significant concern and stated that he did not want a repeat of the challenges that he had experienced during the sprint, he stated that he did not think that the situation was as bad as it had appeared.
“I mean, quite a big one. I don’t want to do it again.
“We’ll see. I don’t think it was as bad as what it was.”
The McLaren driver added that he believed that “certain events” had led to his difficulties during the sprint race, and stated that he believed that his team had been able to sufficiently improve the car between the sprint race and qualifying.
“I think certain events led to such a thing.
“I think we improved the car quite a bit. We were definitely not contending anywhere close to pole yesterday. And today we kind of did.
While Norris admitted that McLaren was “still a bit off” in terms of their pace, he claimed that they were in a good position, having been able to improve their pace sufficiently to be able to match Verstappen’s, and outperform both Ferrari and Mercedes.
“I think we’re still a bit off, but we’re in a good position.
“I think actually our pace relative to Max over yesterday and today is probably a bit more similar.
“I probably expected the Ferraris and Mercedes to be a bit quicker today, but maybe they just got a bit more out of the car earlier on in the weekend and we’ve been able to just take a bigger step forward between the sprint and now.”
However, despite these improvements, Norris stated that he expected Sunday’s race to be “tough” as he expected to be significantly challenged by Verstappen and by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc who will start the race from the second row of the grid. He expressed excitement for the race and added that he believed that there would be “a good battle” between himself and his rivals.
“So maybe we’ve caught up a bit, but it’s going to be a tough race. I mean, Ferrari were very quick in the race today with the degradation. Max is Max. I always said that Max is Max and they’re going to be fast.
“So, I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a good battle and probably a good one to watch.”
When asked why his MCL38 had struggled to match the pace of the RB20 of SF24, Norris admitted that he did not have an easy answer, though he did acknowledge that McLaren had had the best car for several races, particularly in the latter half of the season.
“It’s a good question. I don’t have an easy answer, honestly, for it.
“People would probably hate me for saying it, but I don’t think… We’ve definitely had the best car for, for several races and quite a few races this year over the last two, three months, but definitely not every race.”
While he stated that the MCL38 had been the best car during the Singapore Grand Prix, he claimed that that had not been the case just a week earlier during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He stated that, despite the opinions of persons external to McLaren, he and the team believed that Red Bull and Ferrari had been quicker around the Baku City Circuit. He added that McLaren believed that his teammate Oscar Piastri’s win had been due to him having driven better than the other competitors.
“Singapore was, I think we can say quite confidently, we were the best.
“Baku, just the race before that, I think even though Oscar won, I think he won because he drove better than the others. And I think Red Bull and Ferrari were both quicker once again. People might not agree with that. That’s our version of events. That’s what we think as a team. That’s what we believe.
“So if we just go back two races ago, we were not the quickest car.
“We were last weekend in Singapore, or last time out in Singapore, and perceptions change because of certain things.”
He claimed that his place within the team allowed him to be confident about his opinion on the team’s performance, and while he acknowledged that he was sometimes wrong, he stated that it was difficult to identify the aspects of their performance that were proving most problematic as there were often a variety of factors which could potentially contribute to the development or worsening of identified issues.
“When you’re in the team and you actually know where you stand, where you are relatively to other teams, I can confidently say these things and say where I believe we are and where we’re not.
“Sometimes I’m wrong, but even like today, I don’t think we’re… My lap was very good. I could not have gone one and a half tenths quicker or probably gone any quicker than the lap I did today, which shows we’re not as fast, but exactly knowing where we’re struggling a bit more is tough.
“There’s different reasons. A bit of the bottoming and the ride in the high speed, that’s where we struggle comparing to the Red Bulls. And comparing to the Ferraris, their slow speed is incredible.
“And I think even if we go back to Singapore, where we dominated, Ferrari were very quick the whole weekend until qualifying. They made some mistakes. I think the final stint, Charles was the quickest car on the track on the hard tyre.
“So it’s just you need to know information before you can make certain comments.”
Despite his uncertainty over the reasons behind the MCL38’s supposed lack of pace, he stated that he believed that the performance between McLaren and their closest rivals had been “closer than people think”. He also suggested that there was the possibility that other teams, such as Red Bull and Ferrari had just “taken a couple of steps forward.”
“And I think it’s just been very close and closer than people think, even though we’ve dominated a few weekends.
“And this is one where we’re just not quite as quick and maybe the others have taken a couple of steps forward and it’s a little bit different.”
The McLaren driver reiterated that he did not have an exact answer as to why McLaren appeared to be struggling at the Circuit of the Americas but stated that the lack of pace had been a feeling shared by himself and his team.
“I don’t have any exact answer. I’m just driving the car. But this is my feeling and kind of our feeling as a team.”
With Max Verstappen having extended his lead in the World Drivers’ Championship to 54 points following his win and Norris’ third-place finish in Saturday’s sprint race, McLaren, and perhaps Norris himself, will be acutely aware of the significant impact that a deficit in pace could have on championship fight, especially if these issues continue into the upcoming races.
