IMOLA, Italy (Reuters) -Lando Norris said he had been simply not quick enough after another disappointing qualifying session at Imola on Saturday left the McLaren driver facing accusations of crumbling under pressure.
Norris will start Sunday's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in fourth place on the grid while Australian teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri lines up on pole position for the third time in seven races this season.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes' George Russell also qualified ahead of Norris.
The McLaren drivers had dominated practice, finishing all three sessions one-two with Norris quicker than Piastri in Saturday's final session before qualifying.
Then it all went wrong when it mattered.
"I made a lot of mistakes. Never good enough in my final lap in qualifying, everyone goes quicker and I go slower," said Norris, who is 16 points adrift of Piastri after leading the standings early on.
"Not good enough, the car is mega and it is the best car on track. I'm not going to blame the car. I felt good all weekend but when I try and go for lap time it does not go," he told reporters.
"In my whole career qualifying has been my biggest strength by a long way but this year it is not coming my way."
'COLLAPSES WITH PRESSURE'
Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion with Williams who now attends races as a television pundit, suggested Norris was feeling the pressure of being up against a very quick teammate.
"Last year Lando was the qualifier of the team. And now Lando collapses every time there's a little bit of pressure, and Piastri seems to make a step," he told Sky Sports television.
Team boss Andrea Stella said Piastri had kept his calm but Norris was still searching for performance even as McLaren racked up five wins in six races.
"For Lando, I think the loss was distributed in a couple of corners, not just in one place," said the Italian.
"We know that at the moment for Lando when it’s about finding the last 10th of a second, he still needs to find the perfect feeling with the MCL39 (car). So, we are working on that, and I’m sure this will be improving for the future.
"But when it comes to race pace, we are very strong with both drivers, and we look forward to tomorrow."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
