Lando Norris cut a frustrated figure after Saturday’s qualifying session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, admitting that he made “a lot of mistakes” on his final lap and conceding that his performances in Q3 this season “have not been strong enough.”
The Briton’s 1m14.972s final flyer left him trailing not only his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, on pole, but also Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.
While McLaren’s continued rise has given both its drivers a car capable of fighting at the front, Norris was candid about falling short when it mattered most at Imola.
Norris offered a blunt and candid assessment of his session when speaking to media after qualifying, highlighting personal errors as the main reason behind his fourth-place result.
“I made a lot of mistakes,” the Briton said. “Never good enough in my final lap in quali. Everyone goes quicker and I always go slower. Just not good enough.”
Norris has now been outqualified by Piastri in four of the seven qualifying sessions this season – a surprising statistic given the 25-year-old’s reputation as one of F1’s most formidable one-lap performers. And it’s a trend that hasn’t escaped his notice.
“None of my performances in Q3 have been strong enough this year,” he admitted.
While Piastri’s pole signals a breakthrough for McLaren, Norris was left contemplating why his once-reliable qualifying prowess has deserted him in 2025.
Despite the growing disparity between his and Piastri’s qualifying results, Norris made it clear he’s not blaming the car.
“I'm not going to just blame the car, that's not me,” he said. “I felt good all weekend. I felt good in Q1 and Q2I felt like there's lap time available. But when I try and go for lap time, it just doesn't go.”
Norris reflected on how qualifying has historically been his strong suit, which makes this recent dip even harder to accept.
“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.”
Still, the five-time Grand Prix winner is working closely with the team to understand and rectify the issue. For now, he’s trying to stay focused on what he can influence – starting with race strategy for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“I have to just hope the tyres die very quickly,” Norris said. “I think that we can do better as a team than others, maybe that will open up my chances to do overcuts or undercuts on the guys ahead.”
With McLaren’s tyre management proving superior in recent races, Norris still has reason to be optimistic about his prospects in Sunday’s 63-lap battle at Imola.
But as his teammate leads the team’s charge from pole, the five-time Grand Prix winner knows the clock is ticking to rediscover his qualifying edge.
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