‘I just did a c*** job’ – Norris disappointed with Austin Qualifying performance after late track limits blow

Lando Norris branded his own Qualifying performance in Austin as a “c*** job” after a late track limits violation, combined with a tricky-to-handle car, left him down in eighth place.

The reigning World Champion had been vocal following Friday’s practice that, while there was pace to find in McLaren’s car, the handling issues ultimately meant it was proving too difficult to put together the perfect lap.

While improvements appeared to have been made during Saturday’s Qualifying at the Circuit of The Americas, Norris endured a tricky Q3 as his final effort – which had initially lifted him to sixth – was deleted due to a track limits violation at Turn 19. As a result, he fell back down the order to eighth, behind his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli celebrated an impressive pole position.

“Not great,” said Norris when asked how his Q3 had unfolded. “So, yeah, I don't know, just difficult. The car was the best it's felt, but I just did a c*** job.”

Asked what was potentially on the cards in Sunday’s race, Norris conceded it would be hard to make to many gains from his starting position on the grid.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” he added. “The pace is not bad, it's better than what it looks, but it is going to be hard from P8 I guess. Just a bad day.”

Piastri also echoed Norris' Friday comments as he cited similar challenges with the handling of his MCL40 around the Austin track. With the Australian ultimately claiming P7 he admitted that it had been a less than ideal weekend up until now.

Asked about his pace in the session, the Australian answered: “I don't know if it was ever up, but yeah, it's been tough all weekend. [There’s] just not been any pace so [it’s] a bit of a head scratcher.

“I mean, I think the car has the potential to be quick, but it's just incredibly difficult to drive. It has been a challenge from the first lap yesterday until now so [it’s] not a massive surprise to end up where we are.”

Piastri also went on to explain how he and the team had essentially been trying a variety of different things in a bid to get around the issues they were currently facing, but to no avail.

“We've tried a lot of stuff, but nothing's really seemed to be the fix,” he added. “So, you know, we didn't really expect any of the changes we made to make a massive difference, but it's just been incredibly difficult to get lap time out of the car. So, yeah, just one of those weekends at the moment.”