Lando Norris “never good enough” in Q3, settling for fourth on Imola GP grid

McLaren racer Lando Norris admitted that he made “a lot of mistakes” in qualifying for Formula 1’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and went so far as to say that his qualifying performances over the course of the season “have not been strong enough”. 

The Briton will line up in fourth for tomorrow’s Imola GP, behind George Russell, Max Verstappen and team-mate Oscar Piastri – who claimed pole position and was almost three tenths quicker than Norris.  

“I made a lot of mistakes,” the McLaren racer told reporters in Italy. 

“Never good enough in my final lap in quali. Everyone goes quicker and I always go slower. Just not good enough.”

Norris’ fourth-place result versus Piastri’s third pole position of the season means that the Briton trails his team-mate four to three in the qualifying head-to-head this year.

This is something Norris has clearly picked up on, as he went so far as to claim that “none of my performances in Q3 have been strong enough this year” when speaking with Sky TV after qualifying. 

This raises questions about where the five-time race winner is losing time. So far, he’s been reluctant to put the blame on his McLaren car, which Piastri is racing to great success so far this season. 

“I'm not going to just blame the car, that's not me,” Norris added. 

“I felt good all weekend. I felt good in Q1 and Q2. I felt like there's lap time available. But when I try and go for lap time, it just doesn't go.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

“Qualifying has been my biggest strength by a long way. This year, it's just not coming my way. I think we understand some reasons why.

“Of course, I'm not going to be the happiest about it because I want to be fighting for pole. Things are just not going the way that they should do.” 

While Norris admitted that this could be just “the way it is at the minute”, he added that he is working with the team to extract more from his MCL39.  

This doesn’t mean that Norris is giving up on his chances of moving through the pack during tomorrow’s grand prix. McLaren’s mastery of tyre wear at recent races could provide opportunities for Norris to make up places in the race. 

“I have to just hope the tyres die very quickly,” he said. 

“I think that we can do better as a team than others, maybe that will open up my chances to do overcuts or undercuts on the guys ahead.” 

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