Lando Norris was left baffled after qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Briton discussed McLaren's difficulties following the session.

Norris finished in sixth place on Saturday at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico. The British driver explained that he had done the best he could, but that this is currently where the MCL40 ranks compared to its rivals. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri was eliminated in Q2 and will have to start from 12th place on the grid.

The defending world champion said: "I don’t think anything slipped away, I think just the lap I did was pretty phenomenal in the car that we have. I think it shows us where Oscar is and the struggles we’ve been having, how difficult it is to put just a lap together in this car."

Norris said he is happy to at least finish sixth. "I did a good lap in Q2 I knew I was screwed for Q3 because the chance of me repeating that lap is impossible. It’s just we’re too slow, every now and then I can put a magical lap together and everyone has a bit of hope, which is not a good thing because then you see the reality of Q3."

Norris repeats: The McLaren is difficult to drive

Explaining the issues with the MCL40, he continued: "It’s the same as the whole year, we’re just not quick enough, the car is too difficult to drive. Maybe one in 50 I can put together and everyone says you’ve got a good car but then it’s not true.

Photo: Race Pictures

"Every corner, just look at the GPS, you’ll see how bad we are in sector 1, turn 1, turn 2, turn 3, so two turns every single lap. If we’re two turns off in the first three corners, it’s impossible that you think we can even be close to the rest of the lap. I think the only corner I’m good at is turn 7, that’s it."

The Briton concluded by explaining that, if everything lines up, they can still produce results. "It always feels like there’s a little bit of hope, which is also as much as it wasn’t a good thing, it’s a good thing at the same time that the speed can be there if things just somehow come together, but you never know when they’re going to come together."

Max Verstappen explains why Norris denied him pole in Mexico

The Dutchman was pleased with the way Norris made way for him during his final attempt in Q3. In the end, he locked up and missed out on pole position.