Lando Norris Critiques His Own Austin Qualifying: 'Did a Poor Job'

Lando Norris wasn't exactly thrilled with his performance in the Austin Qualifying session, ending up in eighth place, just behind teammate Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver candidly assessed his efforts as a 'poor job,' following a track limits infraction that saw his final Q3 lap time deleted. Initially, Norris had climbed to sixth, but the penalty set him back to eighth, while Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli secured pole position.

Norris, who has been vocal about the McLaren's handling issues, noted that although the car felt better than before, it wasn't enough to secure a top position. Reflecting on the session, he remarked, "Not great. The car was the best it's felt, but I just did a poor job."

Looking ahead to the race, Norris was realistic about his chances of making significant progress from eighth on the grid. "Honestly, I have no idea," he admitted. "The pace is not bad; it's better than it looks, but it is going to be hard from P8, I guess. Just a bad day."

Oscar Piastri echoed Norris' sentiments about the car's challenges, highlighting the difficulty both drivers have faced throughout the weekend. Piastri secured seventh place but described the experience as tough, noting the car's potential for speed was undermined by its tricky handling.

"I don't know if it was ever up, but yeah, it's been tough all weekend," Piastri said. "The car has the potential to be quick, but it's just incredibly difficult to drive. It's been a challenge from the first lap yesterday until now, so it's not a massive surprise to end up where we are."

Piastri further explained that the team had tried various approaches to resolve the handling issues, albeit with little success. "We've tried a lot of stuff, but nothing's really seemed to be the fix," he added. "We didn't really expect any of the changes we made to make a massive difference, but it's been incredibly difficult to get lap time out of the car. So, yeah, just one of those weekends at the moment."