‘I didn’t deliver’ – Norris laments struggle to maximise McLaren’s performance in Miami

Lando Norris had no choice but to settle for second place behind championship rival Max Verstappen in Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, despite feeling confident about his car’s potential.

Coming off the back of a late victory in the Sprint, the Briton missed out on pole position by just 0.065s, leaving him to rue a small error that involved a lock-up at Turn 17.

READ MORE: Verstappen surges to pole position ahead of Norris and Antonelli in Miami GP Qualifying

Although McLaren have looked like the top team overall across the first six rounds of the season, the competition has been incredibly tight and Norris has found himself unable to start from first place since Australia, the opening race.

He set the fastest middle sector of anyone during the Qualifying hour, but his minor mistake limited what he could achieve on the timesheets.

“I think even that lap, it's all should've, would've, could've stuff but I didn't deliver,” he explained after the session. “The pace was there, the car’s feeling good, I've been feeling better than I have done over the last few weekends.

“I've still not put it together but it is what it is. Max on pole, I'm P2 so ready to see what we can do into Turn 1.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the Qualifying action from Miami as Verstappen secures spectacular pole position

“Congrats to Max, especially being a dad now. I was hoping it was going to slow him down a little bit but it clearly didn't.

“I'm happy with today, happy with the progress I've been making with the car, with myself. Max did a Max lap once again and I can't fault him. Happy and excited for tomorrow.”

On the bright side for Norris, the polesitter has never won the race around this circuit, leaving any number of possibilities on the table for the 57-lap Grand Prix in which he will be hoping to replicate his maiden win from 2024.

His team mate Oscar Piastri will share similar ambitions to add to his list of victories after he endured a frustrating Qualifying that puts him in P4 on the starting grid.

The weekend so far has been a sequence of almosts for the Australian – he missed out on Sprint pole position to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, managed to take control of the Sprint on the opening lap, and lost out on the win to Norris benefitting from Safety Car conditions.

READ MORE: ‘Racing is a pretty cruel business’ – Piastri left disheartened as Sprint strategy call sees Norris continue his ‘luck in Miami’

“Both laps in Q3 were a bit messy, just at different points of the lap which was a shame,” Piastri summarised. “I think the pace was looking very strong and in Q2 I felt comfortable. In Q3 it just all fell away a little bit unfortunately, but I think the car is still going to be strong tomorrow. Hopefully we can make some progress from there.

“It’ll be tough [to fight for the win] but I think I’ve had good pace this weekend. It’s just a shame I didn’t capitalise on it when I needed to.”