Here's the thing: when you are fighting at the sharp end, honesty is the only currency that matters. Lando Norris delivered just that after a bruising weekend at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, conceding bluntly that McLaren were simply not quick enough.
The defending World Champion lined up on the fourth row in P7 right alongside team-mate Oscar Piastri. Matching the fierce pace of Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari proved to be a mountain too steep to climb around the Circuit of The Americas, wrapping up a weekend-long headache for the team.
We know exactly what we’ve got, but we’ve just got to improve it and at the minute, we’ve certainly made some improvements but it's nothing at the level it needs to be,
Things briefly looked promising when Norris climbed to second during the latter stages of the race. But reality bit hard as Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton all swept past, forcing the British driver to settle for fifth place at the checkered flag. That result stretches his frustrating run without a podium finish to four straight races.
Despite missing the rostrum, Norris insisted the squad wrung everything they possibly could out of a difficult machine. "I think we achieved the best we could," said Norris. "It was clear we didn’t have the pace of the others, but we gave it a good try. The pace was good on the hards for a bit, we struggled a lot more on the mediums, but we gave ourselves a chance which was the main thing."
He added, "We had a good strategy and through everything, we gave ourselves the most opportunities so I’m happy, but we’re just not quick enough." The grand prix leaves McLaren sitting joint-third in the Constructors’ Championship alongside the improving Red Bull squad. Norris knows the upgrade path must steepen sharply. "We know exactly what we’ve got, but we’ve just got to improve it and at the minute, we’ve certainly made some improvements but it's nothing at the level it needs to be," he explained.
Further down the order, Oscar Piastri brought his machine home in seventh to bank another six points, managing to fend off the Mercedes rival George Russell in eighth. A clearly deflated Piastri did not sugarcoat his weekend in Texas, labelling the event challenging. "It was very tough for sure," said the Australian. "We were able to keep Russell behind at least which was good but it was pretty challenging to get lap time out of the car which has been the same all weekend. I think, as a team, we’ve both struggled to a pretty big extent but for me, the pace has been pretty bad so there's plenty to understand and see where we can do better."
