Norris left to lament 'first big qualifying mistake of the season'

McLaren driver Lando Norris was left rueing the "first big mistake" he has made in qualifying all season after a series of errors left him 15th on the grid for the Sakhir Grand Prix.

Norris had shown strong pace for the team in final practice when posting the fifth quickest time, but his preparation unravelled when he was sent out too early for his final run of qualifying.

After his first lap at the end of Q2 was ruined by a lack of tyre temperature, Norris failed to improve on his second lap, missing out on the final top 10 shoot-out for only the third time this season.

"It needs to be a weekend where I don't make many mistakes and I made one," he said.

"We went out at the wrong time. To make up for that, I had to do a very slow out-lap which ended up being too slow and the tyres falling out of the window.

"It was just a messy run which is a little bit on my behalf and a little bit as a team. The second lap was still on me and I didn't do a good enough job then, so I'm a bit frustrated, annoyed with myself.

"It is the first big mistake I have made all year in qualifying. Still not happy about that but it happens sometimes."

Norris' team-mate Carlos Sainz has recovered from 15th to finish in the top five in the previous two races, which could provide some solace for Norris.

The British driver, however, believes the chance of overtaking is minimal due to the small gaps between cars pace-wise.

"There are a lot of laps," he explained. "It is still not an easy track to overtake on, not as obvious as it looks from the outside, and people are split by hundredths of a second.

"You can't overtake, you need tenths or a second's worth. It won't be easy but a lot of chances tomorrow."

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