Brown: Norris’s P7 in Austin FP2 understated his pace

Zak Brown says Lando Norris’s seventh place in Friday’s second practice in Austin did not show his full pace. Norris finished more than a second off the fastest time. Brown said Norris’s quickest recorded time came on hard tyres and that his fast lap was unfinished; the first two sectors were strong, but Norris did not get the third sector right.

Brown said Oscar Piastri, who finished eighth, was having some difficulty finding ultimate pace. McLaren kept Piastri on the soft tyre to explore its limits, Brown said. On the team’s overall speed, he said McLaren was closer to Ferrari and Mercedes than the lap times suggested.