"Gutted" Norris says McLaren was quick enough for F1 Brazilian GP pole
A "gutted" Lando Norris believed he and McLaren had a car that was good enough for pole position at Formula 1's Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Briton had looked strong heading into the final Q3 shootout for the top grid spots, after leading the way in the Q2 segment of qualifying for Sunday's race.
But drivers endured a tricky time in setting their laps in Q3 as a major storm blew over the Interlagos track, and Norris failed to repeat his earlier form to end up seventh on the grid.
Max Verstappen claimed the top spot ahead of Charles Leclerc and the two Aston Martins.
Afterwards, Norris could not hide his disappointment at the missed opportunity.
"The car was amazing," he said. "It was quick enough to be quickest today and on pole, so pretty gutted [to end up] the way we did.
"I don't know what to feel about [it]. I think the car was amazing.
"It came alive a lot in qualifying and was easily good enough to be quickest, let's say. Delivering the lap, and putting it together in Q3, everything's a different job.
"Easily quick enough, so disappointed. Another disappointing Saturday, not a lot we could have done."
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60
McLaren's misery at the lost opportunity of qualifying was compounded by Oscar Piastri making a mistake on his single Q3 run, as he slid off the track at the Juncao corner that leads back up to the start-finish straight.
Piastri said he had done nothing different to before on that lap, as a number of drivers said that grip levels had disappeared even though the rain had not hit.
"I just lost a lot of grip," said the Australian, who was unable to set a timed lap in Q3 and thus ended up 10th on the grid.
"I don't know if it was already raining or what, but I was struggling a lot already on the lap. I think everyone was.
"I just went in how I did the last lap and just slid straight off. So yeah, it's a shame. The pace of the car was looking good, but we try again tomorrow."
After electing not to show its full potential in the morning practice session, Piastri said that everything had looked well on course for McLaren in qualifying before the storm blew in.
"It's been a good day in terms of pace," he said. "Obviously this weather's thrown a spanner in the works, so we just need to look at what went wrong in Q3."
Share Or Save This Story
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Jon Noble: An unfair perception or a genuine concern? Lifting the lid on Red Bull’s Tsunoda scepticism
What McLaren thought of Piastri's explosive F1 Hungarian GP radio outburst
F1 Hungarian GP: Norris wins from Verstappen and Antonelli, Piastri retires with gearbox failure
Why Hungarian GP pole position was an ‘overachievement" for Norris – and Ferrari still has a better car
Piastri slams "unacceptable" Sainz blue-flag incident, accepts McLaren strategy in Hungarian GP
Why Sainz only got a five-second penalty for Hungarian GP clash with Piastri
Why becoming a world champion for the first time has its own pressures
What McLaren thought of Piastri's explosive F1 Hungarian GP radio outburst
How Norris shrugged off his first-lap error to deliver on McLaren's Hungarian GP pace
BTCC Thruxton: Ingram wins race three despite penalty to cut into Sutton’s lead
New Honda F1 engine to debut in Aston Martin filming day ahead of Dutch GP
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments