Norris blames himself for track-limits lap in US GP qualifying and calls McLaren car hardest he has driven
Lando Norris was on course for sixth in Austin qualifying before a Turn 19 track-limits deletion dropped him to eighth. The McLaren driver took the blame, but also described the MCL40 as the hardest car he has driven.
A lap lost to the white line
Lando Norris topped Q1 in Austin, so a front-row hope was not unrealistic. In Q3, however, his second lap was struck off for a track-limits breach at Turn 19, leaving him with his first-run time. That was good for eighth place, a second behind pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen, second, was 0.835 s ahead.
He did not look for excuses. "I just did a terrible job today so not very happy with myself," Norris said, according to Crash.net.
The car behind the lap
Norris also had stronger words for the car. He called the MCL40 "easily the hardest car I've ever driven in my life" and said sector three in particular had been poor. Autosport reported that he sees weaknesses in straight-line speed and slow corners, while saying the car has pace elsewhere. Piastri said he had not been as competitive as he wanted to be.
McLaren brought the first stage of its final 2026 upgrade package to Austin, with revised front suspension geometry and a changed diffuser profile. Track limits were a theme all weekend: the FIA announced 207 deleted laps across practice, and Q1 and Q2 also saw laps removed.
Where McLaren stands
In our race data McLaren has two wins in 2026, both in the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix, and seven podium finishes. Its last podium was third place in the Spanish Grand Prix; the three races since, in Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Singapore, brought none. It has 285 points, behind Mercedes (513), Ferrari (383) and Red Bull (312).
Norris is hopeful for the race. Autosport noted that many rivals used medium tyres in qualifying rather than softs, which could open up strategy options. The race starts at 20:00 UTC.
