Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri make a surprising confession about McLaren after losing to Max Verstappen in the F1 British GP qualifying

McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris felt that the car didn't have much more to battle Max Verstappen, as they lost to the Red Bull driver in the F1 British GP Qualifying. The session was a breathtaking one that concluded with the Dutch driver snatching pole position with his final flying lap.

In Q1 and Q2, it did appear that the main challengers for the pole position were going to be the McLaren duo and the Ferrari pair. While Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were showing impressive pace, so were Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen was in the mix but did not stand out the way the other four did. In Q3 as well, the first round of flying laps saw Oscar Piastri in his McLaren on the provisional pole.

It was only on the second lap that Max Verstappen pulled off a stunner to secure pole position for the F1 British GP. Talking to the media, including Motorsport, afterwards, Oscar Piastri shared that the car under him and Norris just didn't have the pace to compete with the Red Bull. He said:

"I'm not that surprised that Max is quick here. The biggest surprise for me is how each car is generating their lap time: you look at the speed traces and they all look completely different, but they end up at basically the same point at the end of the lap. Max has looked quick all day, I just didn't have enough in the end really."

He added:

“The last lap of qualifying was a little bit scrappy, which is a shame, but the first one was very good. There's always the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, but I honestly think I did a good job. Max and Red Bull have done a good job too, so I’ll move on and try to see how we’ll win tomorrow.”

Lando Norris echoes Oscar Piastri's comments about the car

Lando Norris will start the race in P3, as he was a few hundredths off Oscar Piastri's lap time. Looking back at the session, the British driver felt that McLaren arguably didn't have the pace in the bag to beat Max Verstappen anyway. While the McLaren machine seemed to be strong in every aspect of the track, Red Bull has set the car up to be faster on the straights compared to the corners.

He said:

“I just think we weren't quick enough as a team … but P3 is nothing to be disappointed about. It is what it is and we’ll make the race more exciting tomorrow.”

He added:

"Weather can play a part, and there's still going to be rain tomorrow. Max also has lower downforce, so there’s pros and cons of that: they're incredibly quick in the straights, which means passing him will be pretty damn tough."

The weather could make things very interesting for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri because rain does throw quite a few variables into the equation.