Lando Norris reveals 'not easy' McLaren reality after crushing Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris has once again stated that the McLaren MCL39 is "not easy to drive" despite taking a commanding pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The British driver will start the 71-lap race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton beside and behind him, respectively.

His closest F1 title rival is Max Verstappen in fifth, whilst team-mate Oscar Piastri only starts from seventh as his dip in form continues to plague his championship charge.

Norris sits between his adversaries in the drivers' standings, with the Australian 14 points ahead and the Red Bull driver 26 adrift.

The qualifying session in Mexico was a statement performance from the 25-year-old and arguably the greatest of his 14 career pole positions.

Meanwhile, Verstappen has been unhappy with his RB21 at the high-altitude venue, and Piastri has been off the pace all weekend.

When asked by media, including RacingNews365, if he was surprised by the gap to his rivals, Norris replied: "I mean, maybe.

"It's tough because I do feel like I’m doing a very good job. I feel like I have been for a good amount of weekends now, especially when I get this feeling that I had today.

"Actually, the whole day today. It’s not just my Q3 lap that was good. FP3 was strong already and a good step better than it was yesterday. Q1, Q2, Q3 — all of my laps were good.

"No mistakes. No lock-ups. None of these things. And I could just, in a good way, improve."

Norris pointed to the diva-like behaviour of the MCL39, which requires both Norris and Piastri to find a thin groove to extract its high potential.

The car is incredibly quick, but it's not easy to drive," the nine-time grand prix winner explained. "I think we both complained of that as drivers, but when you just get in that little bit of a rhythm, it's flying, and that’s where I was today."