Lando Norris has admitted that he’s in a “difficult moment” as his wretched run in qualifying continued with fourth place at the Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Norris hasn’t logged a single pole position since the opening race in Australia amid his ongoing battle to exploit the potential from McLaren’s MCL39 over a single lap.
But despite topping the times in FP3 as McLaren managed a practice clean sweep at Imola, Norris was unable to repeat that when it mattered as he rued more errors.
The Briton headed into his final timed lap in Q3 under pressure to improve as he resided behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and team-mate Oscar Piastri in third place.
However, a ragged run ensured Norris couldn’t extract more time on his last attempt, with George Russell demoting him out of the top three to compound his anguish.
“I made a lot of mistakes,” Norris told media including Motorsport Week. “Just never good enough in my final lap in quali.
“Everyone goes quicker and I always go slower. Yeah, just not good enough.”
Russell opted to use the Medium tyre rather than the Soft – which, this weekend, is Pirelli’s brand-new C6 compound – to set his fastest lap time in the top-10 shootout.
Pressed on whether he contemplated that, Norris said: “Yes, at times, because the Medium is just as good as the Soft. In fact, maybe it’s better. Some drivers did do it.”
Norris shoulders blame over qualifying errors
Norris, who out-qualified Piastri 20 times across 24 rounds last season, insisted the onus is on him to overcome the limitations that are hampering his title prospects.
“To be honest, I’m not going to just blame the car,” Norris, who lies 16 points behind Piastri, who will line up on pole, reiterated. “That’s not me.
“I felt good all weekend. I felt good in Q1 and Q2. I felt like there’s lap time available, but when I try and go for the lap time, it just doesn’t go.
“Clearly, a lot of things changed from last year. Last year, qualifying has been my biggest strength by a long way.
“This year, it’s just not coming my way. I think we understand some reasons why.
“Of course, I’m not going to be the happiest about it because I want to be fighting for pole.
“Things are just not going the way that they should do. I’m working hard, the team are working hard. It’s difficult moments, but it’s the way it is at the minute.”
Asked whether there is something wrong with the McLaren that’s plaguing him, Norris retorted: “No, the car is mega, it’s on pole and it’s the best car on track. I wasn’t.”
Norris anticipating slow Imola comeback
With track position expected to be imperative as passing opportunities tend to be limited around Imola, Norris has conceded that he is poised to make slow progress.
However, Norris, a three-time consecutive podium sitter at the venue, hopes that McLaren’s advantage when it comes to preserving the tyres will assist his comeback.
“I mean it’s going to be tricky. I think just overtaking naturally is going to be quite impossible,” he assessed. “But there’s maybe some good chances of strategy.
“I have to just hope the tyres die very quickly.
“Maybe there’s a thing that we can do better as a team than others, and maybe that will open up my chances to do overcuts or undercuts on the guys ahead.
“But we’ve not done many long runs. We’ve not used the Hard tyre yet. So many unanswered questions.
“But of course I’ll do everything, as always, to try to race my way back.”
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