McLaren
Lando Norris, 5th
“I feel I drove a strong race today and gave myself the best possible shot at a top result. Our pace on the Hard tyres was particularly strong, but to stay in contention and capitalise on potential Safety Car periods, I had to push the car well beyond its comfort zone. Ultimately, paying the price for that in the second stint meant fifth place was the absolute maximum we could achieve, and I am satisfied that we maximised our package under the circumstances.
“The reality remains that we are still lacking the outright pace needed to challenge higher up the grid. It was clear this weekend. Qualifying performance and car predictability remain our main priorities to address, but the team continues to do a fantastic job, and I am confident that if we resolve these key areas, we will secure strong results across the remaining races.”
Oscar Piastri, 7th
"P7 today. A tricky day out there. We just didn’t have the pace in the car, and we continued to struggle, as we have all weekend. The Hard compound was good, so we were able to extend to a one-stop strategy, having initially planned for a two-stopper, which helped us manage the track position in the second stint and keep George behind, which was positive. The strategy was strong, we had a solid start and pit stop, we just didn’t have the pace to be able to make up any places. When you find the window on these cars, there is some pace but finding that window is very tricky.
“Looking ahead to Mexico, we will review what we can from here to take into the weekend, where the combination of low grip and high altitude may prove tricky for us. But we’ll do what we can and keep pushing to add more performance to the car, so that we can maximise the lap time and pace.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal
“A decent Sunday following a disappointing Saturday: that sums up the weekend in Austin. Today’s race showed that the MCL40 is still capable of fighting for the podium, but it’s clear that our position on the starting grid made that goal virtually unattainable. There is a shared sense of frustration across the whole team at not having fully exploited our potential during Qualifying, but it is up to us to try and do better.
“The team and the drivers worked very well, both in terms of strategic decisions and driving on the track, and the upgrades we brought here made a positive contribution: Lando showed excellent pace and Oscar drove a strong race, holding off Russell’s Mercedes for around thirty laps without ever giving him a chance to overtake. I was also pleased to see how our drivers worked together on the track, keeping in mind what the priority is, namely McLaren Mastercard’s best interests.
“Clearly, a fifth and a seventh place are not results we can be satisfied with, but we must accept it and work to improve. We want to end the season on a high and aim not only to fight for the podium but also for victory, with the aim of finishing the Championship in at least third place.”
