Norris: I let myself, McLaren down for the first time in Germany Q1
Lando Norris says he let himself and his McLaren Formula 1 team down for the "first time this season" during qualifying for the German Grand Prix
Norris will start tomorrow's race from 16th on the grid after he was eliminated in Q1 following a late improvement for Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi.
It meant he missed out on a Q2 berth by being just 0.055s slower than the 15th-placed Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.
Carlos Sainz Jr eased into Q2 and qualified seventh after making into Q3, and Norris's starting position is his worst qualifying result in his rookie season.
"I just didn't put my sectors together when it counted and that cost me," said Norris.
"There was nothing too much [in terms of time loss] - a quarter of a tenth. Very small mistakes which cost that much and [stopped me from] getting into Q2 today.
"I'm frustrated but at the same time it's the first time this year that I've left myself and the team down. The car was there or thereabouts where it needed to [be].
"But this is the first time I've let the team down when there was more potential in the car, and Carlos was in Q3 again. [I] need to move on and look to tomorrow."
"Nothing was missing, we struggled a little with the car this weekend, so it hasn't been as easy as the other weekends," added Norris.
Norris also appeared to hinder Alexander Albon's qualifying run in Q1 after the Toro Rosso driver closed in on the McLaren at the first hairpin late in the opening segment of the session.
Albon qualified 17th behind Norris and complained about his rival over the team radio.
When asked if he feared he would get a grid penalty over the incident, Norris said: "No, I was on a push lap.
"I pushed and he started the lap behind me, I've got nothing to be worried about."
Share Or Save This Story
Stroll: I need to look to myself to beat F1 team-mate Perez
The one thing W Series needs in 2020 to continue its rise
Abbie Eaton admits being wrong about W Series negativity
Norris: I was better than Piastri in every sense in battle for Hungarian GP victory
What McLaren thought of Piastri's explosive F1 Hungarian GP radio outburst
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
The data behind Russell’s engine software issue that caused his Hungarian GP slow start
United Formula Ford battles add European flavour to USA Snetterton 300 event
Red Bull appoints Lagrue as junior driver chief after Mercedes F1 exit
Dome-led group launches bid to build next Super Formula car
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