The McLaren driver had looked to be a strong contender to challenge for pole position in Mexico City, after showing some impressive form in Friday practice.
But it all went wrong at the start of qualifying when his first banker run on medium tyres was aborted following an instruction from the pitwall.
That left him with everything to do on his final effort, when there would be no margin for error thanks to how compact the entire field has been this weekend.
But after losing some time as he encountered Fernando Alonso’s spun Aston Martin at Turn 1, Norris then fumbled his lap as he failed to keep things tidy.
And while he was unsure about why his opening lap had been called off, he said he took full responsibility for not having delivered when it mattered in that critical final Q1 run.
“I got told to box for some reason, [but] the pace was good,” Norris told Sky. “Something obviously wasn't right, but that wasn't a problem.
“I just made some mistakes on my one lap that I had. Obviously there was a yellow in the end from Fernando.
“So yeah, that one opportunity, that one lap that I was given, I didn't put it together. It went off and that was it.”
Source: Autosport