Why Norris found it 'very difficult' to maximise the McLaren

Lando Norris has admitted that the MCL40's tricky handling made for a challenging Friday at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, despite showing signs of competitive pace during practice. While Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen in FP2, Lando Norris finished down in P7 with Oscar Piastri right behind him in P8, both papaya cars even trailing the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson. Lando Norris explained that although the car's raw pace is not entirely bad, it is extremely difficult to drive consistently, requiring near-perfection from the driver to extract speed. Chief Technical Officer and Chief Designer Rob Marshall offered a more optimistic view, noting that the team set a purple sector during FP2 and that a small upgrade package focused on corner components and the diffuser performed as intended with measurable benefits. With overnight setup tweaks, McLaren remains hopeful of finding a better rhythm and joining the fight at the front for the remainder of the weekend.