"Stupid" Norris broke "rule number one" in COTA practice

Norris, McLaren, United States GP — Photo: © LAT Images

United States Grand Prix

"Stupid" Norris broke "rule number one" in COTA practice

Norris suffered from front locking during Friday's running

Ewan Gale

Saturday 23 October 2021 18:00

Lando Norris has put his multiple lock-ups during Friday practice for the United States Grand Prix as "just me being stupid" after breaking "rule number one" at the Circuit of the Americas.

The McLaren driver impressed in second practice to finish second to Sergio Perez by two tenths but suffered from front locking throughout Friday's running.

The track surface in Austin is under intense scrutiny for its bumpy nature whilst wind and hot temperatures have added to difficulties in drivers finding a balance in practice, yet Norris was quick to dismiss excuses for his mistakes.

"That was just me being an idiot, braking on the kerbs which you just never do," he explained.

"It is not slippery, it is just a kerb is a kerb so it is grated and rule number one is never brake on a kerb so it was just me being stupid."

Norris eyes easy changes for added confidence ahead of qualifying

Norris' performance in the second session provided McLaren much needed optimism after a difficult FP1 as Ferrari aims to reduce the 7.5 point gap between the two teams in the race for third in the constructors' standings.

Assessing his Friday running, Norris said: "It was a good day in terms of pace but not easy to achieve that.

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"Difficult because of the wind and the bumps and the conditions make it very tricky out there and even with the set-up, the first couple of runs I struggled quite a bit but by then the final run, we made some changes and I was much happier with the car and could push on it more and the lap time came easier.

"I think we are in a good place because I feel like we can quite easily make some changes to give myself more confidence and confidence is lap time a lot of the time."