LANDO Norris maintained his composure under mounting championship pressure to secure second place on the grid for the United States Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver qualified behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but ahead of his title-leading teammate Oscar Piastri.
Norris admitted his car lacked the necessary pace to challenge Verstappen for pole position during Saturday’s qualifying session.
“It has been more of a struggle today for whatever reason,“ said Norris.
“Yesterday I was quite comfortable and I don’t know if everyone has improved a bit or the wind today hurt us a bit more.”
The British driver acknowledged that both McLaren drivers found it difficult to match Verstappen’s speed.
“We were both struggling quite a bit more to put the laps in and be as quick as Max.”
Norris expressed satisfaction with his second-place starting position despite the challenges.
“We were pushing. I’m happy with P2 -- it could have been worse. There’s no chance we could have gone pole today.”
The qualifying result comes after Norris was involved in a crash with teammate Piastri during the earlier sprint race.
Norris remained philosophical about the incident and looked ahead to Sunday’s main event.
“Don’t get hit is my clue for tomorrow. I look forward to having a good race with Max.”
“We’ve had a good few in the past and I’m looking forward to it.”
Verstappen secured pole position and expressed confidence in his car’s performance.
“This is a strong result for us,“ he said.
“It was good. The car was strong and it can be tricky to put a lap together here with the wind and the bumps -- and it’s very hot too.”
The Red Bull driver joked about the McLaren collision that helped his championship hopes in the sprint race.
“McLaren helped us today,“ he said.
“But we just have to keep on doing that... If we win, we have a chance.”
Piastri endured another difficult day but remained confident in his ability to regain consistency.
“It didn’t come together and we have to review it and see what we can do,“ he said.
The Australian driver believes he can rediscover the form that propelled him to the championship lead earlier in the season. – AFP
