Lando Norris Gives Sprint Qualifying Confession As COTA "Trick" Revealed

Lando Norris has conceded there is no surprise that he was unable to topple Max Verstappen and Red Bull in sprint qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver missed out on pole in SQ3 by just 0.071s to the four-time world champion at the Circuit of the Americas, with the duo well clear of championship leader Oscar Piastri in third.

Norris had been fastest in the sole practice session and through the first two sessions of sprint qualifying, but when it mattered most, Verstappen pulled a lap out of the fire to take the advantage into the sprint.

"Not a surprise"

"Wasn't good enough to be on pole, but it's not a surprise for us to be a bit slower than the Red Bull," said Norris.

"So still pretty happy. A couple of things here and there that I could have improved on, I caught a few of the bumps a little wrong, let's say. That is just the difficulty of this track. Otherwise, all happy."

COTA is one of the bumpiest circuits on the calendar, with the surface built over high-plasticity clay, which swells and contracts with temperature changes.

A front-row start in the Sprint for LN4! 🔐#McLaren | #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mikxkvra04
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 17, 2025

That means that car set-up is crucial for laptime and driveability, and asked how he felt behind the wheel of his McLaren, Norris explained: "I am sure if you ask most people if they are confident through sector one, I am sure they will say no.

"I am happy with not being very comfortable. I think that is kind of the trick. Otherwise, it's ok. The laps are pretty good, I found good steps of time throughout.

"It is just easy to catch a bump at the wrong angle or a bit too much throttle here and there over the bumps. Not the end of the world, but would have loved to have been a little quicker."

Norris hopefuly of sprint victory

The sprint will award points to the top eight, and although winning won't be a massive advantage over Piastri in the title race if the Australian remains third, Norris is hoping to get one over on Verstappen in the shortened race.

"Our race pace is usually better," he said. "We have struggled the whole year with our quali pace, especially when it is close and it has been close today. That's why I say it's not a surprise, but we have more hopes for the race that we can get back ahead."

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