Norris "working on things" to help him "improve" his qualifying pace

16:12, 08 May

byOlly Darcy

McLaren driver Lando Norris has said that he is "working on things" that will help the British driver "improve" on his one-lap pace with the MCL39.

After taking pole position and going on to dominantly win the Australian Grand Prix, it looked like the 25-year-old would be very hard to beat in the title battle after challenging Max Verstappen last year.

However, since that weekend in Melbourne, there have been issues for Norris surrounding his qualifying, unable to get to grips with the one-lap pace of his papaya-coloured car. As a result, he has been unable to take pole position again so far in 2025.

Norris took P2 in qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix behind Verstappen, finding a bit more one-lap pace after a P6 in Bahrain, followed by P10 in Jeddah after crashing in Q3

Norris was not aware that the MCL39 would be harder to qualify with

Compared to the 2024 car McLaren had at their disposal last year, qualifying for Norris seemed far easier than this year. That was a change Norris did not see coming, admitting that when asked if he expected his 2025 machine to be trickier than last year's.

"No, I don't think so," the 25-year-old said in Thursday's press conference at the Miami Grand Prix. "I mean, it's very hard to know. Of course, we have the simulator and things, and there was nothing that really spoke out that much about it. So the answer is no.

"We knew it would be a step forward, we knew it would be quicker, but until you really put it on the track and you drive at different circuits… There are some circuits I felt better at, and some circuits I’ve liked the feeling a lot. But not enough of an indication for me to kind of prepare—probably what I needed to prepare for," continued the McLaren driver.

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It is also something that Norris is trying to sort out himself to turn around his qualifying form to bring him back to the front of the grid, hoping to reel in teammate Oscar Piastri, who leads the drivers' standings with 131 points.

"I'm working on my things, what to improve, and trying to figure out all the things behind the scenes on what I need to do better on," explained the Brit.

"It's certainly not because of a lack of speed or ability to do so. I've often led the way in Q1 and Q2, but always when I've got to Q3, it's not gone to plan. So yeah, there's stuff from the driving side and from the car side, where things haven't clicked," concluded Norris.