Norris Claims Pole in Austin as McLaren Fights Back, Verstappen Eyes Redemption
The McLaren driver set the fastest lap with a time of 1:32.330, edging out his Red Bull rival—who leads the championship by 54 points with six races left—by just 0.031 seconds.
“It was a beautiful lap,” Norris said after securing his first American pole and his fourth in the last five races, aiming to challenge Verstappen. “I couldn’t have gone much faster. When you do a lap like that, you think, ‘This will be tough to beat.’ I gave it everything, and it’s exactly what we needed.”
Norris admitted McLaren had struggled throughout the weekend. “We’ve been behind Ferrari and Red Bull on pace, so I had to pull something out today, and I did. It was a cool lap and a great way to start the race.”
He also shared how much he enjoyed the speed at Circuit of the Americas. “It’s fast and exciting—sector one especially. The bumps make it thrilling, and being the quickest definitely puts the biggest smile on your face.”
Reflecting on the challenges McLaren faced, Norris said, “It’s been a tough weekend, but we made the necessary adjustments. Maybe we weren’t the fastest, but we got the result. Carlos said he could have gone quicker, and Max said the same. I’m lucky, but I’ll take it.”
Verstappen acknowledged his missed opportunity in Q3: “I lost a lot of time on the first lap, and on the second run, I couldn’t finish it. Otherwise, I think we had a real shot.”
He noted that winning the morning sprint race had restored confidence in the Red Bull team, which hadn’t won since May’s Spanish Grand Prix. “We looked competitive, made some small adjustments, and the car felt good. Hopefully, that carries into tomorrow.”