Norris happy with sixth because “the car is undriveable”

Lando Norris comfortably outqualified team-mate Oscar Piastri on Saturday. But while that would have delighted him last year, this season Norris has shown an increasing sense of bitterness and frustration because he has not been given a proper chance to fight to retain his title.

McLaren currently faces the very real threat of dropping from first to fourth in the championship standings. Paddock talk suggests CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella do not even want to contemplate that prospect, but given Oscar Piastri’s current form and Lando Norris’s deep dissatisfaction with the McLaren’s handling, it is more than possible.

The McLarens will start 6th and 13th on Sunday, leaving them with little chance of scoring big points. Lando Norris, however, was happy even with sixth after qualifying, having said he was not at all comfortable in the car.

“We just just weren’t quick enough, simple as that. I’m pretty happy with my position to be honest, with the car we have,” the defending champion said after Saturday’s running.

“The car changes lap to lap every single round this year. We tried one prep-lap because that’s what the others did, the others could make it work, we can’t make it work. We’re just not quick enough,” said the reigning champion.

He had set the fastest time of anyone in Q2, but was three tenths slower than Hamilton in Q3 and dropped to sixth. After qualifying, however, he bluntly stated that there was nothing more in the car. His team-mate’s result only underlined that. “I did an incredible lap in Q2. Repeating something like that in Q3 was simply unrealistic,” said Norris.

“I’m pretty happy with P6, I can’t ask a lot more, I’m happy with the job I did with the car I have,” he added.

He gave a brief, to-the-point interview to DAZN that perfectly summed up his mood at this stage of the season. He said: “I’m happy. This car is undriveable.”

Asked what was most difficult about the car, he replied: “Everything.”

When the conversation turned to race pace, Lando left his options open by saying that nobody really knows what to expect. He suggested that was doubly true for McLaren and the MCL40. “This car is just so difficult to drive, so I don’t know if it’s gonna be a good day tomorrow or a bad day. I think overtaking will be almost impossible,” said Norris.