Lando Norris set the sixth fastest time in qualifying in Las Vegas, and the McLaren F1 driver admits he couldn't have done much better. His team is looking forward to Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and the Nevada circuit is not made for the MCL38.
“The top 3 was out of reach, the Mercedes were fast all weekend, that's clear, and Ferrari followed them. Red Bull and ourselves were quite far behind and that showed today. hui” explains Norris to Sky F1.
“We were expecting a bit more than where we were, for sure, it could have been if the lap had gone well, but we were fighting at every corner with something different, one lap works and the next round it doesn't work.”
“It was too difficult, it was too difficult a challenge to do with our car. When you're trying to find a lap time but also not go over the limit, it's a difficult balance to find.”
The Briton will start alongside Max Verstappen on the grid, who just beat him in qualifying. He knows that in the current state of things, he will lose any chance of a title and he will therefore try to postpone the deadline.
“I will do everything I can, that's what I came to do. I'm not going to give up until the end, even if the chances are extremely slim. I'm here to do my best in every race, whether I fight for the championship or not.”
Oscar Piastri qualified eighth and admits he didn't expect to be so far behind. He too hoped for a top 3 before realizing that it was impossible for McLaren this Saturday in Las Vegas.
“It was difficult. I felt that in Q1 and Q2 we were in good shape, but that wasn't the case in Q3. My lap wasn't great, but I could never have done better. “Getting close to pole will be an interesting race, there are some fast cars up front, and the tires are a real issue, so we'll see.” Piastri said.
“I think FP3 made us look better than we were with the red flag. But I was surprised to be so far away, I thought a top 3 would be possible but we were far from it. We are fast in long stints but we have some degradation, so we'll see tomorrow.”
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