Lando Norris admits he had to hold back slightly during his battles on the first lap of the United States Grand Prix to avoid causing an accident. The McLaren driver and teammate Daniel Ricciardo went head-to-head with Carlos Sainz on the straight running up to Turn 12 as they scrapped for P5, whilst Charles Leclerc was leading them ahead. Norris attempted to get ahead, but had to be cautious to prevent colliding with Leclerc. "[It was] a bit of chaos," Norris told select media, including RacingNews365.com . "I wanted to go for the move [but] I just couldn't commit, because we were too close to Charles. If I'd braked any later I would have t-boned Charles, and things could have gone very badly! "I tried but, just because of where Charles was and the positioning, I just couldn't commit to the overtake and kind of get ahead." Norris also had a "tough" battle with Sainz, and felt that the effect on his tyres during all of this was detrimental to his race. "I ruined my tyres quite a bit trying to push and keep up with him, especially because he was on the Soft tyre," the Briton explained. "So that hurt my race quite a bit, but [it was a] good fight." Norris eventually finished the race in eighth and he doesn't feel that McLaren could have achieved anything more on a weekend where they were outpaced by Ferrari. "I think Ferrari were quite obviously quicker than us today," Norris said. "Maybe it doesn't look it because Carlos was just stuck behind Daniel but, if Carlos was ahead of Daniel he would have pulled away the same as Charles did. "We've lacked pace all weekend compared to the Ferrrais. They were quicker than us [in qualifying] and quicker than us again [in the race]. "[It's] a shame, but that's the way it is." McLaren and Ferrari continue their fight for third in the Constructors' Championship, with the Scuderia now having closed the gap to their rivals to just three and a half points.
Most read
