Norris narrowly misses out on pole: 'Wasn't the cleanest lap'

F1 News

Norris thinks pole was achievable Made too many mistakes
22 July 2023 at 16:23

Lando Norris qualified third for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Briton came a mere tenth short of pole position, which went to Lewis Hamilton. Norris believes pole was achievable in Hungary.

Norris balks at missing pole

"I'm disappointed. If you're within a tenth of pole it feels like you should be on pole if you put the lap together," Norris began to tell after qualifying. Still, Norris is happy with his team's performance, as Oscar Piastri qualified fourth. "I guess with the overall picture I'm happy. The team did a good job with P3 and P4. A good weekend so far."

Norris makes mistakes in qualifying

The McLaren driver thinks first place was achievable if he hadn't made so many mistakes. "As a driver I'm not the happiest, I feel I made too many mistakes and it cost me today. There's always little things - just putting the lap together. It wasn't the cleanest. There's always an element of risk involved in trying to push a bit more. Nothing major. There was definitely a tenth in it. Frustrating. I'm happy. P3 is still a good position, so still a good day."

Norris looks forward to race

Norris expects to be strong in the race and hopes to have a strategic advantage with the two McLaren cars in the top four. "I'm excited. The race pace yesterday was pretty strong. Just as strong as we were at Silverstone. It's a difficult track to overtake at which is probably why I'm a bit more frustrated than I should be. I'm up there with the good guys and we've got two cars up there, so hopefully we can use them."