Lando Norris, in his F1 title chase, described the weekend at the United States Grand Prix as a "momentum killer" after the young Brit lost more points to Max Verstappen.

Going into Austin, Norris was trailing Verstappen by 52 points and knew he needed to close the gap. However, instead of minimizing the deficit, Norris ended up losing five more points as he finished behind Verstappen in both the sprint and the race.

The situation wasn't helped by a five-second penalty that sparked controversy among fans. Norris received the penalty for overtaking off-track, which dropped him from third place to fourth, right behind his rival Verstappen.

When Norris was asked how much the weekend hurt his title chances, he said: “Quite a bit. It’s a momentum killer.

"But we didn’t come here expecting to dominate or win easily. Ferrari’s speed showed they’re just as competitive. Even if I had taken Turn 1 in first, I wouldn’t have finished higher than third. The one guy I had to beat was Max, and I didn’t. So yeah, it was a tough weekend overall.

"But we gave it our best. I tried, but it wasn’t enough. There's more work to do on the car and on myself."

Andrea Stella, McLaren's team boss, said he wasn’t surprised by the difficulties the team faced in Austin, pointing out the contrast between their dominant form in Singapore and the challenges in Texas. Stella explained that the track’s characteristics played a big role.

"Compared to Singapore, Austin has a lot more low-speed braking and corners, plus the wind, and we know that under these conditions, our car isn’t at its best," said Stella. "Our car performs better in medium-speed corners and calmer conditions, like in Singapore, Zandvoort, and Hungary. I expected this event to be one of the tougher ones out of the remaining six."

Stella also emphasized that Ferrari’s performance in Austin wasn’t a surprise. In recent races, the team had shown their potential, and it was only a matter of time before they maximized their results. "They’ve been quick in the last few races," Stella said. "Leclerc was in a position to win in Baku, and we expected him to be competitive for pole in Singapore. So, it wasn’t a surprise to see Ferrari this close."

Looking ahead, Stella believes that the upcoming venues will suit McLaren’s car much better. "We brought some upgrades to Austin, but they weren’t big enough to make a huge difference. We have a few more coming in the next two races, and hopefully, they’ll improve our competitiveness."