Lando Norris was ecstatic after delivering a superb lap in Saturday’s qualifying session at the United States Grand Prix, securing pole position and narrowly edging out Max Verstappen by just 0.031 seconds. This marked Norris’ fourth pole of the season and came at a crucial moment as he continues his bid to challenge Verstappen for the championship.
Despite Verstappen appearing to be back on form after recent struggles, Norris rose to the occasion and pulled off a blistering 1:32.330 lap at the Circuit of the Americas. Verstappen, who had to contend with yellow flags after George Russell’s crash during Q3, admitted that the interruption affected his performance, but it was Norris who capitalized on the opportunity to seize the top spot.
Reflecting on his incredible performance, Norris was thrilled with his lap, acknowledging it would be tough to improve on it. Given the challenges McLaren had faced earlier in the weekend, the Briton knew he had to deliver something special—and he did just that.
“It was a beautiful lap,” Norris said. “I wasn’t going to go much quicker than I did. You know when you do a lap and think, it’s going to be tough to beat that. I put everything on the line; it’s what we needed to do. We’ve not had the pace of the Ferraris or the Red Bulls, so I had to put in a special lap, and I did that. Overall, a cool lap and a nice place to start the race tomorrow.”
Ferrari showed significant improvements during qualifying, with Carlos Sainz securing a strong P3 and Charles Leclerc just behind in P4. Sainz’s impressive lap time of 1:32.652 put him ahead of his teammate, who clocked 1:32.740. Meanwhile, Verstappen, despite being second, demonstrated better pace than in recent races, hinting at an intense battle between the frontrunners on race day.
Norris, who enjoyed the thrill of the high-speed circuit, admitted that the weekend had been challenging for McLaren. After a tough Friday, the team made several adjustments, and while those changes helped, Norris acknowledged they still weren’t the fastest car on the grid.
“A tough day, a tough weekend for us,” Norris said. “But we changed quite a bit, reviewed everything we could, and made the improvements we needed to make. Maybe we weren’t the quickest car out there today, but we made it work.”
The pressure is now on Norris to convert his pole position into a race win, as he seeks to close the gap on Verstappen in the drivers’ standings. Should Verstappen overtake him and secure his eighth victory of the season, it would pile even more pressure on Norris as the season reaches its climax. The race promises to be a nail-biting affair with everything on the line for the McLaren star.
