Lando Norris: We missed the chance to win pole

Lando Norris qualified second in Austin and repeated his best result of the season. The British driver lost 0.130 seconds to pole holder Charles Leclerc and said in a short comment after the session that the speed of the car at the start allowed him to take first place.

Oscar Piastri, Lando’s teammate at McLaren, set the tenth fastest time in qualifying.

Lando Norris (2nd): “I’m happy – it’s a good day! The result was probably unexpected, but it is a good bonus for the whole team. I didn’t make as many mistakes as last week, which is also good.

I think we were fast enough to take pole. Charles said he made several mistakes, but I also had some inaccuracies. It’s a shame because we had the chance and we missed it. But I’m still happy.”

Oscar Piastri (10th): “This was not my best qualification. Some laps I did were fine, but in the end the result was not good enough. My last lap in the final was quite bad, but I’m happy that the car can keep a good pace.

We’ll get another chance on Saturday, so we’ll try to do better. To do this you have to not make mistakes, and today I made some pretty serious mistakes a few times. But there are very big bumps on this track, and because of that it is very difficult to complete a lap without making mistakes. Still, I’ll try to work more consistently tomorrow.

Difficulties are related not only to uneven surfaces, but also to the fact that the asphalt is different in different parts of the circle. Where the surface has been retreated it is smooth and provides good grip. Where it is old there are bumps and grip is worse. But there are also places where it seems like the asphalt that was laid when the circuit first opened is left behind and there is no grip at all.

All this creates its own difficulties, but everyone is on an equal footing.”