Norris: 'That was silly to be honest'
F1 News
Lando Norris apperared to be having a very strong sprint qualifying session, finishing first in both SQ1 and SQ2. However, during SQ3, he failed to put it on pole, and instead will start ninth in today's sprint race in Miami. His McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri will start sixth.
Discussing what went wrong during the final eight minutes of qualifying, the British driver said: "I just pushed too hard, simple as that. So no, car was feeling very good. Yes, just silly to be honest. So a couple of mistakes in Turn 1 and just a big spiral from there."
McLaren revealed that they had updated 10 components on Norris' car ahead of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, whilst his team-mate had only received around 50% of these. Nevetherless, Norris seems happy with the upgrades the team has made, and how he performed generally during the sprint qualifying session.
During SQ1 he set a time of 1:27.939, followed by another top scoring time of 1:27.597 in SQ2. During SQ3, he struggled more, only setting a time of 1:28.419 which left him finishing ninth. The Briton said it was "a shame because the team has done a good job. The upgrades are working. So I'm happy with everything, just not with one thing."
What upgrades have McLaren introduced?
McLaren certainly brought the largest upgrades package to this weekend, with nine performance-based changes. These included changes to the front wing, the front suspension and the front corner of the car, as well as the floor, the sidepods, bonnet and cooling. In addition, the rear suspension and rear corner have been upgraded, and finally, the beam wing has also been modified, just for this circuit.
Speaking on the upgrades and how confident he feels after SQ3, Norris told F1TV: "The pace is very good. Probably one of the quickest. So, yes, disappointing with today, but I'll do my best tomorrow."