Lando Norris has expressed disappointment over missing out on pole position for the Miami Grand Prix, despite showing a significant improvement in his qualifying performance. The British driver described this near-miss as the only frustrating aspect of his session. He will start the race in Florida alongside Max Verstappen on the front row, providing him with a prime opportunity to replicate Oscar Piastri's impressive maneuver against the Dutchman at the first corner.
As Norris prepares for the full-distance race, securing a strong result is crucial, particularly after his teammate's recent back-to-back grand prix victories. His sprint win at the Miami International Circuit has notably narrowed the gap in the championship standings, now down to just nine points. This qualifying performance marks a turning point for Norris, ending his streak of being out-qualified by Piastri, who will start the race from fourth position. However, the five-time grand prix winner felt that his session could have yielded even better results.
When asked by media representatives, including those from RacingNews365, if he was able to pinpoint where he lost time during his lap, Norris responded affirmatively, stating, "Yes, I can." Having missed pole position to Verstappen by a mere half-tenth of a second, he was specifically questioned about whether the time loss occurred at Turn 17, the final corner of significance in Miami. "Yep. You got it right," he acknowledged, referring to footage that showed him bouncing over the inside curb. "Yeah. I just didn't quite put it together, but that's it."
Despite the disappointment, this qualifying session represents a considerable advancement from Norris's earlier grid performances in Bahrain and at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. At Bahrain, a less-than-ideal lap resulted in a sixth-place starting position, while a heavy crash in Q3 at Jeddah left him qualifying in tenth place. When asked how encouraging his performance in Miami was, Norris replied, "Very. I'm very happy with the end result. Just a shame when you miss out on pole, so that's the only frustrating bit." He continued to share insights about his continued efforts to work closely with his team to improve in this area, noting, "I think I've been trying different things, I've been doing different things with the team to try and work a bit more in this area and things have been taking a step forward. So I'm happy. Maybe not quite there yet, but happy with the progress."
