Lando Norris makes astonishing claim over Austin F1 qualifying struggles

Lando Norris has claimed his McLaren was the "hardest car I've ever had to drive" as he struggled through qualifying at the United States Grand Prix.

McLaren has looked unconvincing throughout the weekend in Austin, with its front-running rivals running more consistently at the head of the timesheets.

Its struggles were amplified during qualifying, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris slumping to seventh and eighth, respectively.

Norris was originally positioned in sixth place before his final lap time was deleted for track limits.

While the lost two positions were disappointing, Norris asserted his struggles were deeper than what the lap time suggested.

"The car was very strong in terms of pace, just insanely difficult to drive," Norris told media including RacingNews365.

"[It was] probably the hardest car I've ever had to drive in my life, but it was good enough for P2.

"I should be P2, but I'm P8, so clearly I did a very bad job today."

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Norris highlights biggest McLaren weakness

Norris pinpointed the final sector as McLaren's biggest weak point, stating the team is "dreadful" through that part of the circuit.

"The car was good enough for P2, the car was quick. It's just nasty to drive.

"A good result is possible. I have faith that we can get a good result tomorrow. I don't know how easy it's going to be to overtake and things like that.

"For a lot of the track, we seem on par. We struggle a lot in sector three, in the very slow speed, we're pretty dreadful. But tomorrow is a new day."