Lando Norris gave a dejected interview after qualifying sixth for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The McLaren racer declared himself 'just not fast enough' and suggested that mental factors might have contributed to his disappointing result. The 25-year-old will start one place ahead of championship rival Max Verstappen after Red Bull struggled to dial in the ill-behaving RB21 at the Sakhir International Circuit.

Fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton will launch from two positions further back in P9 after another challenging outing. Making matters worse for Norris was the performance of his McLaren team-mate. Oscar Piastri clinched his second pole position of the season after a dominant start to the weekend throughout the practice sessions.

After stepping out of the cockpit, Norris spoke to Sky Sports F1 reporter Rachel Brookes. When asked about his second Q3 run, he replied: "No, I didn't even go a tenth quicker, so... you know, I'm just not quick enough."

Brookes then asked where and why he was slower. Norris answered by pointing at himself, and then his head, before replying: "Here." After a short pause, he added: "No I have no idea. Honestly, no idea, [we're] just not quick enough."

When posed a follow-up question about how he can turn around his P6 grid slot, Norris replied: "It's just another day, so [we will] look into things, see why I was struggling so much today and try again tomorrow."

This was a disastrous outcome for Norris, who would have been relishing the opportunity to extend his lead over Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship standings, and score a rebound on the Red Bull team, who have been increasing their mind games in the media after the Dutchman's against-all-odds triumph in Japan.

Instead, Norris now faces a Grand Prix of damage limitation as his McLaren team-mate looks to close the 13-point gap to P1 in the standings. Piastri has George Russell for company on the front row, with Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Pierre Gasly also between them.

"I've got to get to Turn One in first, so let's see what happens," the Australian said in his post-qualifying interview. "But I've felt like I've been comfortable all weekend and there's no better place to start than on pole. I can't thank the team enough for the car they've given me and excited for the race tomorrow."