Norris surprised by pace on old tyres in late Verstappen fight

Lando Norris finished fifth after a late fight with Max Verstappen for second at the United States Grand Prix. The McLaren driver said he was surprised by how much pace he still had on hard tyres he considered far too old.

Verstappen, on fresher tyres after two pit stops, passed Norris on the inside at Turn 1 on lap 47. Norris could not retake second; Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton also got past.

A one-stop strategy left Norris on old tyres late in the race, and he lost pace towards the end. Free air had helped him keep Verstappen behind for a few laps, he said, but wear on the hard tyres eventually became too great. Once he was in traffic on old tyres, he said, the cars behind could pass easily.

Norris also said he would not have been able to catch Verstappen again if Leclerc had not joined the fight. He knew Leclerc would find it easy to pass once Verstappen had passed him; still, Norris enjoyed the battle and said he had no chance of holding both drivers behind. Leclerc finished second.