Sixth-placed Norris felt “like I’ve never driven an F1 car before” · RaceFans

A dejected Lando Norris said he let McLaren down by only qualifying sixth on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

While Oscar Piastri claimed pole position, Norris was over four tenths of a second slower than his team mate. The pair were separated by both Mercedes plus Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Afterwards Norris said he was “just slow” in qualifying. “I’ve been slow this whole weekend, to be honest, so it’s nothing too surprising. Honestly, I’ve just been off it.

“I don’t know, I feel like I’ve just never driven a Formula 1 car before. I’m struggling a lot, I don’t know why and I need to try and find some answers.”

Norris was third before the drivers made their final runs in Q3. He made a mistake at the beginning of his final run between turns one and two.

Having been first and second over Q1 and Q2, Norris admitted he had no one but himself to blame for his qualifying position.

“The car’s amazing, so I have nothing to complain about,” he said. “The team are doing an amazing job, Oscar’s on pole by a good chunk.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

“I’m thankful for the team, they’re doing an amazing job. It’s just I am letting them down.”

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said he understood his driver’s frustration. “He just missed [out in] sector one.

“Oscar did a brilliant lap, he’s been mega-strong, as has Lando. He has a great racing car under him. Obviously he’s disappointed because he knows he underperformed and should be right there on the front row with Oscar.”

Brown said Piastri’s pole position showed the virtue of hiring the most competitive drivers available. “Two number one drivers, I wouldn’t go racing any other way,” he said. “It’s great to see.

“His confidence is high, everyone at McLaren has given our two drivers a great race car, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”