“It’s on me” - Norris takes blame for shock Q1 exit despite McLaren pit call

Norris was a surprise early exit in qualifying as he was knocked out in the first segment.

McLaren were one of three teams to send their drivers out on the medium tyres in Q1.

Unlike Ferrari and Mercedes, McLaren called Norris and Oscar Piastri in early to pit for a new set of tyres without a lap time on the board.

With four minutes to go, McLaren sent their drivers back out with enough time to complete two flying laps.

Norris made a mistake on his first soft lap in the middle sector, while yellow flags caused by Fernando Alonso ruined his second attempt.

Despite the untimely McLaren pit call, Norris cited “some mistakes” for his premature exit.

“I got told to box for some reason, [but] the pace was good," Norris said. “Something obviously wasn't right, but that wasn't a problem.

“I just made some mistakes on my one lap that I had. Obviously there was a yellow in the end from Fernando. So yeah, that one opportunity, that one lap that I was given, I didn't put it together. It went off and that was it. We turned around and went straight back out

“We will speak about it after, but I had one lap and I didn't do it. So it is on me.”