Norris claims pole lap was "best of my career' but expresses "struggles"

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Lando Norris claims best career lap during qualifying United States GP
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Lando Norris claimed his pole position lap was probably his career-best lap. The McLaren driver will start Sunday's United States Grand Prix just ahead of his rival Max Verstappen and sees the team make a good step forward from the sprint race earlier on Saturday.

Norris got the better of Verstappen after the first run in Q3, which turned out to be the important part of Q3. Russell lost control of his car and ended up in the barrier. He caused a yellow flag and had to climb out of the car, so the track did not return to green. This comes after Verstappen extended his lead in the World Championship earlier on Saturday.

How Norris reacted to his pole position

"It was the best of probably my career I think...yeah it was just a very nice lap," Norris said before suggesting he would've struggled to beat it anyway. "I kind of set the bar too high because on my second lap I was like, 'Guys, I don't think I'm going to improve much here.'," he added.

"I got everything out of the car. We changed a good amount from the sprint race into quali today and definitely took a step forward. But I was still struggling a lot. I just knew I had to risk a little bit more and then give it that little extra, and it just came together perfectly. But it was definitely not a lap I could have repeated, so I'm very happy because I really wasn't expecting to be here today," Norris said, admitting his surprise.