F1 microphones pick up Lando Norris’ ‘unbelievable’ verdict on his US Grand Prix performance

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The United States Grand Prix is set for an exciting race after the final part of qualifying was affected by a late crash for George Russell.

Lando Norris will line up on pole position for the race in Austin, with championship rival Max Verstappen lining up alongside him. Ferrari continued to show their pace as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc line up third and fourth, with Russell completing the top five.

Verstappen extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 54 points after he claimed his fourth Sprint race win of the year on Saturday. Norris had to settle for third behind Sainz after he locked up his McLaren at turn one on the final lap and let the Spaniard by.

With six Grand Prix and two Sprint races left to go, Norris is running out of time to close the gap to Verstappen. Helmut Marko thinks McLaren are ‘not mature enough’ to win the championship, as Norris has not been able to benefit from having the fastest car in recent months and get within touching distance of the Red Bull.

McLaren have taken the lead of the Constructors’ Championship over their rivals by 39 points, largely thanks to the consistency of Norris and Oscar Piastri. Marko has stated McLaren have a stronger driver pairing than Red Bull, as Verstappen has considerably outperformed Sergio Perez who has not scored a podium since the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lando Norris says his lap was ‘unbelievable’ in parc ferme after qualifying in Austin

Red Bull’s upgrades for the United States Grand Prix have given them some performance in the RB20, as evidenced by Verstappen’s Sprint race pole and win.

The Dutchman was looking good for pole in regular qualifying for Sunday’s race, but the McLarens and even the Ferraris were showing the potential of reaching the top spot throughout the day.

As Q3 was coming to an end, Norris had provisional pole after setting a time of 1:32:330, only three-hundredths of a second quicker than Verstappen. As the Red Bull driver was on his second flying lap, Russell lost his Mercedes at turn 19 and slammed into the barriers.

Double waved yellow flags put an abrupt halt to qualifying and Norris subsequently achieved pole position for the race ahead of Verstappen and Sainz, and the F1 world feed picked up the Brit feeling elated with his performance.

As Norris stepped out of his car in parc ferme, the microphones picked up the 24-year-old saying ‘my lap was unbelievable’ as that time secured him his sixth pole position of the season.

Can Lando Norris hold on for victory at the United States Grand Prix?

Sunday’s race is anticipated to be an exciting and dramatic fight at the front given the race pace shown by Norris, Verstappen and the Ferraris across the weekend so far.

Verstappen held on to victory in the Sprint race but it was clear how quick his rivals were during those 19 laps. The charge up the hill into the sharp left-hander of turn one will be tantalisingly close between the frontrunners.

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Norris broke his horrid streak of not leading the opening lap from pole at Singapore and the Brit will be looking to do exactly the same in Austin and cover up the inside line from Verstappen.

With so much still at stake in the championship, the two rivals will want to avoid another collision in 2024 and race hard to the finish line in their bid to win the 2024 title.