McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris shared his thoughts on his race pace, why they opted for a one-stop strategy, whether he disagreed with the pit wall, his battles with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, the team’s decision to swap positions early on, and the efficacy of their latest upgrades following his fifth-place finish at the 2026 United States GP on Sunday.
Since his lap time got deleted for a track limits infringement in the final segment of qualifying, Norris lined up in eighth for the eighteenth Grand Prix of the season at COTA.
While the McLaren duo held positions at the start, the team swapped the drivers on Lap 8 once it was clear that Norris had better pace than Piastri.
The Brit headed into the pits at the end of Lap 16 and switched from mediums to the hardest compound. With Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers opting for a two-stopper, he rose to P2 and decided to stay out.
With no Safety Car offering him a cheap stop, Norris gradually dropped back through the field as the cars with a tyre delta came through. Verstappen made a move into Turn 1 on Lap 47, and Leclerc carved through later on the same lap when the McLaren driver suffered from a lock-up.
Nevertheless, Norris had built a big enough cushion to stay ahead of Isack Hadjar and secure P5. He sits sixth in the Drivers’ standings, with 211 points under his belt.
Norris on his pace and one-stop strategy at the 2026 United States GP
Speaking in the print media pen after the 56-lap F1 race, Lando Norris reflected on his pace and the decision to pull off a one-stop strategy at the 2026 United States GP.
The reigning Drivers’ Champion explained that they were willing to take a risk and stay out since a better outcome wasn’t possible with the popular two-stop strategy. He also claimed that a well-timed Safety Car intervention would’ve put him in contention for a podium finish.
Asserting that he had extracted the maximum from the car in Austin, Norris conceded that it was a positive result, despite the haul of only 10 points.
“Yeah, we tried. I mean, we were not there on pace or anything. So, we had to give it a shot.
“If there was any VSC or a Safety Car, we were right in contention for a good podium. Even a P2 for a lot of it. I was hoping, I was praying; it never came.
“I feel like it was a good race today, I feel like the pace was strong, I feel like I got everything out of it.
“Have to be happy, even though a P5 doesn’t sound amazing. Yeah, there’s not much more we could do.”
Whether there were disagreements
Asked if he was disagreeing with the McLaren pit wall during his long final stint on the hards, Lando Norris clarified that he was satisfied with the team’s decision-making at the United States GP and that they were simply discussing whether to pit him for a second time and switch to a different compound.
“No, not at all. No, I was very happy with the team. We did a good job today.
“They were just debating whether to box onto different tyres or not. I was hoping to have a better chance with the hard tyre, but the hard tyre just degraded.
“It was more, did we want to box and be safe and box onto another set of tyres? Or did we want to stay out, and we just chose to stay out?
“No, no disagreements. I think they did a very good job with the strategy today.”
Norris reflects on his battles with Verstappen and Leclerc at COTA
With regard to him managing to hold Verstappen off for multiple laps and whether he could’ve regained the position from the Dutchman if Leclerc weren’t on his tail, Lando Norris said, “No, I was on way too old tyres; he [Verstappen] had already done two pit stops.”
Nonetheless, the 26-year-old admitted that he was surprised at how well the hard compound was still performing in the latter stages of his race. He also pointed out that clean air had allowed him to keep Verstappen behind for a few laps before degradation rendered his hards uncompetitive.
“I was still surprised. The pace was still very good at that point on the hard tyre, comparing to them. I was quite surprised that at that part of the race, we could be as strong as we were.
“Inevitably, as soon as he had overtake [mode], and I had to use boost to defend, he was going to come past quite easily. He did that, and as soon as I then had traffic on old tyres, then it’s kind of game over, and it’s easy for everyone else.
“Clean air was saving me a lot, and obviously, I managed to keep him behind for a few laps. But the degradation was starting to become too much on the hard tyre.”
Furthermore, Norris disclosed that he had enjoyed battling Verstappen and Leclerc in Sunday’s United States GP and that the pace differential was too big to fend off the Ferrari driver.
“It was good fun. I felt like it was a nice battle. In the end, it was just impossible to keep them behind, especially with how quick Charles [Leclerc] was on the hard.
“He was very, very quick. Obviously, he finished P2. I had no chance, but we gave it a good shot.”
Norris reveals whether McLaren’s United States GP upgrades are effective
As to McLaren issuing team orders and swapping the positions of their drivers on Lap 8 of the 2026 United States GP, Lando Norris defended the pit wall’s call, arguing that he had been the faster driver throughout the race weekend.
“Yeah, I mean, we want the best result. I’ve been a lot quicker all weekend. So, it’s just the obvious thing to do.”
In terms of the upgrades they brought to COTA, the 13-time race winner stated that they were working as they had anticipated. However, he also drew attention to how the MCL40 still lacks rear-end grip and that the package still hasn’t rendered the car more competitive in the slow-speed corners.
“Yeah. You just hope that you put something on and it’s magical and you go a lot quicker and you’re fighting for a podium all of a sudden.
“Things are all working as they should, but Ferrari bought upgrades, and other teams are still bringing in upgrades.
“They’re delivering. It’s just not really in all the places that we need them to, like the slow-speed corners. We’re just nowhere near at the level we need to be. We need a lot more rear in slow speed. It’s been our issue for a long time now. It seems to be very hard to tackle, but we’ll keep working.”
When asked to confirm if the McLaren is currently the fourth-fastest car, Norris responded, “Yeah, I think it’s pretty obvious.”
