Pole-sitter Norris and Verstappen will share the front row for the sixth time this season when the lights go out in Austin on Sunday at
Pole-sitter Norris and Verstappen will share the front row for the sixth time this season when the lights go out in Austin on Sunday at
However, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc on the second row could interfere with the title protagonists as Ferrari showed strong pace in the Sprint on Saturday, which was won by Verstappen with Norris hanging onto third.
“I don’t want to do it again!” half-joked Norris when asked about his tyre wear in the Sprint after he was overtaken by Sainz on the last lap and nearly hit by Leclerc.
“I don’t think it was as bad as what it was. I think certain events led to such a thing. I think we improved the car quite a bit. We were definitely not contending anywhere close to pole on Friday and today we kind of did.
“I probably expected the Ferraris and Mercedes to be a bit quicker, but maybe they just got a bit more out of the car earlier on in the weekend and we’ve been able to just take a bigger step forward between the Sprint and now. So maybe we’ve caught up a bit, but it’s going to be a tough race.
“Ferrari were very quick in the race today with the degradation. Max is Max. I always say that Max is Max and they’re going to be fast. So I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a good battle and probably a good one to watch.”
Norris came into the weekend thinking McLaren would be as strong as they were last time out in Singapore, where he took a dominant lights-to-flag victory.
But, they initially struggled on the newly resurfaced Circuit of the Americas on Friday and Norris lacked grip in his front tyres in the Sprint.
In response, McLaren made set-up changes to the car after the Sprint to improve their pace, which Norris also hopes helps his tyre wear on Sunday.
“We made quite a few changes after the Sprint. We hope that will give us better tyre management,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“Not a worry, but Ferrari were extremely quick in the Sprint and it will be difficult to beat them.”
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