Lando Norris has admitted he was pushing too hard during qualifying for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
Following a disappointing start to the season, Norris had hoped to bounce back at Albert Park, and after a solid day of practice, McLaren had seemingly turned a corner.
However, it turned out to be a false dawn as Norris tried too hard in qualifying, only managing 13th on the grid after making a trip across the gravel trap during the session.
“[I was] just pushing too hard,” admitted Norris to the media. “I needed to put a pretty magical lap to get into Q3, so [just] a bit over the limit.
“I thought we would do a little better than where we were today. I think it was possible, but [yeah] just not driving as well as I should, so [a] bit disappointed with myself, but it is what it is.”
Lack of harmony with car and track causing mistakes
Melbourne was the second consecutive weekend where Norris’ mistake had cost him a chance of securing a Q3 appearance.
With the MCL60 proving to be a difficult car to drive, Norris has been forced to overdrive, making rare mistakes which have cost him and the team dear.
“A mixture of the mistakes I was making was [in] just all different corners,” said Norris. “Just as soon as I tried to push into one corner, I would make it there, and then the rest of the lap was good.
“So just not putting everything together, really. I kind of feel I have to drive at 95%, and then 100% as soon as I try to push to what I think is the limit, it’s always over the limit.
“[It’s] just hard to get an understanding of what the limit is.”
