Lando Norris delivered what he described as the "best lap of my career" to secure pole position for Sunday's US Grand Prix, edging out Max Verstappen by a mere 0.031 seconds.
The McLaren charger's pole came under dramatic circumstances, as George Russell's crash in the closing minutes of Q3 brought out a red flag, signaling the session and denying Verstappen the chance to complete what appeared to be a quicker lap.
Norris had been trailing Max Verstappen by a significant margin in Q2, with few drivers looking capable of challenging the reigning world champion.
However, in the decisive top-ten shootout, Norris put together a flawless lap, jumping ahead of Verstappen. His impressive flyer stood as the benchmark when the red flag ended the session early following Russell's incident at Turn 18.
Norris, clearly elated, called his lap "beautiful" over team radio and later elaborated that he felt it was one of the best laps he's ever driven.
"The best of probably my career, I think. It was just a very nice lap," Norris reflected.
"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.'
"I got everything out of the car. We changed a good amount from the sprint race into qualifying today and definitely took a step forward.
"But, man, I was still struggling a lot so I just knew I had to risk a little bit more and then give it a 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."
While his lap was near perfect, Norris admitted that McLaren's MCL38 struggled to match Red Bull's pace in the high-speed sectors, particularly where Verstappen excelled in the first sector.
"I mean, it was just – it was a bit everywhere, honestly,” he said. “But of course, the high-speed is where we struggle to touch the Red Bulls, especially as Max has been extremely quick in the first sector , and the high-speed [corners]."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised Norris' performance, noting that his pole lap was "pretty much perfect" and that it would have been difficult for him to improve further on a second attempt.
He also acknowledged that Russell's red flag ultimately helped McLaren secure the pole, as Verstappen's flying lap looked fast enough to take P1.
"I saw Verstappen was on a fast lap, which could have been a problem for us in terms of pole position, so I think the yellow flag helped us," Stella said.
Stella also expressed confidence that McLaren's set-up changes would help the team manage tire degradation better in the race, an issue that hampered their performance during the sprint.
"We have done some tuning to the set-up,” he added. “I think we understand some aspects also from a driving point of view.
“Lando and Oscar have been able to pull it all together. P1 and P5 is important for tomorrow, and hopefully we will be able to reduce the tire degradation, which was high in the sprint."
With Norris starting from pole and his teammate Oscar Piastri lining up in P5, McLaren looks set for a strong showing in Sunday's Grand Prix.
Norris' pole lap, under intense pressure, marks another high point in his season for the Briton and a clear demonstration of McLaren's growing competitiveness.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
