Lando Norris admits “Charles Leclerc did an excellent job” amid Hungarian GP pole position. Lando Norris expressed disappointment after qualifying at the 2025 Hungarian GP.

Lando Norris was clearly disappointed by his performance in qualifying for the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix but has already shifted his focus to the race, where he will have to challenge Charles Leclerc, who secured a stunning pole position for Scuderia Ferrari.

The British driver came away from qualifying at the Hungaroring feeling defeated, recognizing it was impossible to match the incredible pace set by Charles Leclerc and his unexpected pole lap.

Norris openly admitted that the McLaren cars were not at their peak performance during qualifying, sharing his honest assessment in the post-qualifying interview. Despite his disappointment, he reserved only praise and admiration for the Monegasque driver, whose dominant performance set the tone ahead of Sunday’s race.

“Yes, considering our current form, I would say yes,” Lando Norris responded when asked if he felt disappointed with his lap. “But I believe Charles did an excellent job on his final lap. The changing conditions probably affected us more negatively, especially with the wind shifting direction. I don’t want to complain. He drove a great lap at the end, we were just slow, and he did a great job,” he added during his interview with the official Formula 1 media team.

When questioned about why McLaren struggled to find their rhythm, Norris explained, “In Q2, I think we showed how fast we can go. We demonstrated a solid advantage. Then the wind changed, and everything seemed to disappear. The last sector became even more challenging. It wasn’t easy to put a complete lap together. When you manage to do it, it’s a great feeling, but failing to do it in Q3 is tough.”

Now, the McLaren driver is fully focused on tomorrow’s race, aiming to win and reduce the points gap to his teammate Oscar Piastri. Asked how he plans to approach the critical first corner, Norris said, “Both things. I want to move forward, and I want to win,” he confessed. “And obviously, if I win, I will also gain points. It’s going to be an exciting race. I expect we will have a slightly better race pace than Charles. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”