Lando Norris expressed immense satisfaction after clinching pole position for the United States Grand Prix on Saturday, narrowly beating series leader Max Verstappen by just 0.031 seconds. The McLaren driver recorded a best lap of 1:32.330, marking his first pole in America and his fourth in the last five races, as he aims to close the gap on the three-time champion, who currently leads the title race by 54 points.
“It was a beautiful lap,” said Norris, reflecting on his performance. “I was not going to go much quicker than I did. When you just do a lap and think, ‘damn, it’s going to be tough to beat that’ … I put everything out on the line, and it’s what we needed to do.”
Despite facing challenges throughout the weekend, Norris was thrilled with his speed at the Circuit of the Americas, noting the exhilarating feeling of driving on the fast and bumpy track. “Inside, you’re like, ‘damn, this is fast,’ and it just gives you a good feeling,” he added.
Norris acknowledged that McLaren had been on the back foot during the weekend, competing against the stronger Ferraris and Red Bulls. “It’s been a tough day and a tough weekend for us, but we made the improvements we needed to,” he said, expressing gratitude for his pole position despite being aware of other drivers’ intentions to improve their times.
Verstappen, who had a strong showing earlier in the day, was disappointed after losing time during his first lap in Q3 and unable to finish his final attempt. “I think I had a really good shot, but that’s how it goes,” he commented.
The qualifying session took a dramatic turn when Mercedes’ George Russell crashed into the barriers at Turn 19, bringing an early end to the tense proceedings as Verstappen was attempting to better his time.
Norris’ impressive performance placed him ahead of Verstappen, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc following closely behind. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri secured fifth, while Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, two-time champion Fernando Alonso, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, and Sergio Perez completed the top ten.
With Norris’s fourth pole of the season, the stage is set for an exciting race on Sunday as he continues his pursuit of championship points against Verstappen.
