'I'm Just Doing S**t Job': Norris Mourns After Losing Front Row In One Corner

Sunday, 26 November 2023 at 14:00

McLaren's driver Lando Norris expressed his big disappointment with his 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying Result.

Oscar Piastri suggested he was not too worried about Aston Martin's Championship fight for fourth place, and his confidence was backed by the Qualifying pace of McLarens on Saturday.

Both Papaya cars were on it from the beginning of the session and seemed like main contenders for pole position besides Max Verstappen going into Q3.

Norris was on a very strong lap during the final lap in Q3, lacking only 0,118 on the pole after the second sector. However, he made a mistake in turn 12, which put him off-line into turn 13, where he lost even more time by sliding his McLaren.

What would have been a front row start turned into P5 for the 24-year-old in matter of seconds. Norris told the media following the qualification:

“"[The slide] cost me four-tenths, and 100% cost me [a front row slot]. I've not done more than one lap with more than 50 kilos of fuel, and it was a terrible day for me."”

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Norris finished second in both Practice Sessions that he attended. He said he felt good in the car through the weekend so he might have hoped for a better result.

“"The car has been very good all weekend, with the few laps that I have done. If it was for P1, then maybe [I would stew over it], but I don't think [the lap] would have been P1."”

The Qualifying session in Abu Dhabi was one of the closest sessions in F1's history. One small mistake cost multiple drivers two or more positions. Norris explained:

“"If you make any mistake in qualifying when you are fighting for a good position, it is frustrating, but the thing is, I just make so many mistakes on a Saturday at the minute."”

Norris seems to struggle with small mistakes in the final laps of his Qualifying sessions. The McLaren driver shared he was happy with all of his Qualification laps yesterday, besides the last one. He added:

“"The laps in Q1 and Q2 were some of my best, my first lap in Q3 was very strong. There was just this one little mistake. I don't know why it happened. It is frustrating because I am just doing a s**t job on Saturdays."”