F1 News: Lando Norris Reflects On "Bad Job" Despite McLaren's Strong Showing
Lando Norris, despite a stellar performance from his McLaren team, expressed palpable disappointment over his own execution at the Qatar GP Sprint Shootout. The reflective driver lamented missed opportunities, underscoring a personal frustration amidst a notable team success.
Key Takeaways
- Despite the team showcasing a commendable performance, with Oscar Piastri securing pole position, Norris’ self-admitted underwhelming performance and deleted lap times painted a contrasting picture.
- Norris did not shy away from being forthright about his performance, pointing towards his own mistakes and inability to piece together a satisfactory lap, despite recognising the car’s capability and the team’s excellent groundwork.
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Norris's open admittance of self-dissatisfaction was evident when he openly expressed to the media following the Qatar GP Sprint Shootout:
“I’m happy for the team, happy for Oscar, but I did another bad job today. I don’t know what I’m going to say, I’m just not happy, I’m not doing a very good job. Yeah, should have been pole yesterday, should have been pole today, but I’m not.”
Further probing into the root of his frustrations revealed a critique focused towards his own execution:
"Just mistakes, not putting the lap together when I need to. Easily quick enough for pole, I just didn’t put it together at all but Oscar did a good job. Max has done a good job again, so [it’s] frustrating. The car’s quick enough, the team is doing an excellent job, but I’m just not delivering on what I need to do, so of course I’m not going to be happy with myself.”
As the stage is set for the Qatar Grand Prix, Norris will be commencing from a suboptimal tenth position, courtesy of a deleted lap time that would have ushered him to a much more advantageous third. Concurrently, his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri clinched a pole position for the Sprint Race, further exemplifying the potential housed within the McLaren MCL60, a potential Norris is unequivocally conscious of, yet feels he fell short of manifesting.
