Formula 1 United States GP

Norris on rare engineer message before Austin pole: "A little kick never hurts"

Norris explains why his confidence in the McLaren could use a lift ahead of his pole-winning qualifying run

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Tiffany Cromwell and Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Jock Clear, Senior Performance Engineer, Scuderia Ferrari with Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Andy Cowell, Group CEO, Aston Martin F1 Team, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Red Bull Racing RB20 steering wheel of Sergio Perez

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

The grid with a view of Turn 1 ahead of the Sprint

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, gets out of the car on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, removes his helmet on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Shaboozey and Gordon Ramsey pose in front of the car of Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, removes his helmet on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint race

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, the rest of the field away

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Race start, as drivers race into the first corner

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the remainder of the field at the start of the Sprint

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint race

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 battles with Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, congratulate each other in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, chat in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 3rd position, chat in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, celebrates in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Sting with the Sprint top 3: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 3rd position

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Marshals clear away the car of Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

The car of Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, is moved away on a flatbed truck

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 wooden plank detail

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, watches down the pit lane

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Mondo Duplantis and his fiancée Desiré Inglander

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Pato O'Ward, Reserve Driver, McLaren F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, parks his car in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, celebrates in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Liam Lawson, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, and Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team for Sky Sports F1

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, chats with Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, receives his Pirelli Pole Position Award from Pole Vaulter Armand Duplantis

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Top three qualifiers Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris has revealed why his Formula 1 race engineer made a rare intervention on the team radio before his pole lap for the United Stated Grand Prix.

Norris took a sixth pole of 2024 at the Circuit of the Americas thanks to narrowly beating title rival Max Verstappen after the first of two planned runs in the Q3 shootout.

A late yellow flag for George Russell's crashed Mercedes prevented anyone else from setting another lap, denying Verstappen and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz a chance to snatch pole away from the McLaren driver.

Norris acknowledged his luck, having set what he felt was the best lap of his career on a weekend where McLaren hasn't been as competitive as hoped.

He also admitted he hadn't been at all confident in the car heading into the pole-deciding shootout, which prompted his race engineer Will Joseph to give a rare message of encouragement as his driver ventured onto the track.

In a message that was picked up by the world feed, Joseph told Norris to "trust the car" as the "lap time will come" while also giving him a technical reminder about his driving.

"It's a very rare thing," Norris said. "He knows I don't like that kind of stuff normally. It's just because I said after Q2 I was not confident at all in the car.

"I was bouncing everywhere and I just lacked confidence at that point to put a good lap together. And I'd been struggling in Turn 1, been struggling in Turn 12. But we were there or thereabouts.

"It was more just: 'Let's get a good lap in and be there'. So that's what I did.

"Whether or not what I did was because of Will's comments, I'd probably say no, otherwise I'll boost his ego too much... But I probably needed it a little bit just because I was struggling a lot with the car and we've been a bit off this weekend. A little kick never hurts sometimes."

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, Will Joseph, Race Engineer, McLaren F1 Team, on the grid

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

Team principal Andrea Stella explained Joseph's message originated from Norris' performance engineer and must have been reassuring at the time.

"We hear Will, because Will is the one talking to the driver, but actually in this case, Will conveyed the message that was provided to him by Andrew Jarvis, who is the performance engineer," Stella said.

"The driver, the race engineer and the performance engineer and some of the others, they work very, very closely [to] develop a language with quick references that can be passed rapidly, even as you prepare a qualifying lap.

"They include content that is technical, is driving [related] and sometimes is even kind of reassuring, and that message added these three elements in a single message, because it had to do with how to approach the driving.

"It was reassuring, because we knew that there's performance in the car if you don't overcook what you're trying to achieve. And it is technical, because it is related also to some of the settings of the car that we had adjusted from the sprint into qualifying."