Austin F1 pole lap “the best of my career”

Lando Norris reckoned his United States Grand Prix pole lap was the “best of my career” after denying Max Verstappen in Formula 1 qualifying thanks to the George Russell-induced red flag.

After Q2, Norris had been almost three tenths shy of Verstappen’s headline effort in the middle stage, with few drivers looking like a genuine threat to the Dutchman over a single lap.

Norris then grabbed a 0.031s advantage after the first laps in Q3 as both drivers took fresh softs at the start of the session, a lap that the Briton later conceded that he would have struggled to improve on.

Pole position went Norris’ way when Russell put his car into the wall at Turn 18, which brought out the red flag and put a pin in Verstappen’s effort – one that was set to be quicker than Norris’ eventual pole time.

Norris remarked over the radio that his lap was “beautiful”, and later explained that he wouldn’t have been able to repeat the lap if he’s had another chance.

“The best of probably my career, I think. It was just a very nice lap,” Norris reflected. 

“I kind of set the bar too high, because on my second lap, I was like, ‘guys, I don’t think I’m going to improve much here’.

“I got everything out of the car. We changed a good amount from the sprint race into qualifying today and definitely took a step forward. 

“But, man, I was still struggling a lot so I just knew I had to risk a little bit more and then give it a little extra. And it just came together perfectly, but it was definitely not a lap I could have repeated. 

“So I’m very happy, because I really wasn’t expecting to be here today.”

Norris explained that the McLaren was falling short in the high-speed sectors versus the Red Bull, hence his first sector deficit against Verstappen.

Asked where he was risking it the most, Norris said that he had to chase the car a little bit more in those high-speed corners in order to get time out of it.

“I mean, it was just – it was a bit everywhere, honestly. But of course, the high-speed is where we struggle to touch the Red Bulls; especially Max has been extremely quick in the first sector, and the high-speed [corners].”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella agreed that Norris’ first time had been “pretty much perfect” and that his driver was going to struggle to improve on a second run.

Stella added that McLaren had been…