After a disappointing qualifying at the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by clipping the wall in Q3, a small error with major consequences in such a tightly contested season, Lando Norris had the mammoth task of attempting to climb up the ranks in a critical race to secure his spot at the top of the championship ranks. His recovery from P10 to P4 was not enough to ensure that. He ended up being overtaken by his teammate Oscar Piastri as he claimed his third race win after the race.
Making the most of clean air
Norris’ race got off to a solid start. However, on a circuit like Jeddah, where tyre wear is minimal and lap times remain consistent, few factors can tip the balance. One of those is clean air, something Norris emphasized as key to his performance in the Saudi Arabian GP.
Speaking after the race, he explained how starting further back hampered his strategy despite his strong pace: “I think so. I mean, Charles was quick, you know, I mean, the pace was very strong.”
“To finish 9 seconds off the lead was a little bit surprising, so showed our pace was pretty, yeah, very good. Mainly considering the clean air around here, it’s just, it’s a dream. Got a little stint when Charles boxed, my pace was very good.“
“Of course, I was quite good in the lead. The clean air around here is beautiful. So I made the most of that, and Charles just did a very good stint on the medium, and then didn’t have, I didn’t have a big tyre delta comparing to him, so nothing more.“
Norris “paid the price” for Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying mishap
Norris ultimately finished just one second behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, but admitted Leclerc’s performance on the medium tyres gave him the edge in the final stint: “The drive was great by Charles. He was nice and quick as well, and clearly we didn’t have a lot of chances. If anything, he was a very strong, quick start. Which means we had some work to do.“
But, despite his struggles throughout the race, he admitted that the consistent performance of McLaren is their main positive outcome: “Yeah, clearly, that was not an easy race. We looked good, we were probably the most consistent. But we’re not quicker than the rest. And because of my mistakes like yesterday and things like that, I paid the price and I made my life very tough for myself, so I’m happy enough.”
Norris: “I just make my life too tough on Saturday“
Norris entered the season as a favourite for the World Championship title, but two consecutive wins for Oscar Piastri have now seen the young Australian leapfrog his teammate in the standings.
The British driver acknowledged that his Saturday performances have been his Achilles’ heel and recognized the need to eliminate costly qualifying errors if he’s to regain momentum. Norris said: “I was pushing as much as I could, I did everything. There’s no degradation here, you just push flat out.In a way, it’s quite a boring race because there’s nothing. It’s a flat out race from lap 1 to lap 3. It makes it physically tough. But no, I did everything I could, I pushed as much as I could.“
“Yeah, I’m not surprised. It’s because of all the mistakes I’ve made over the last few Saturdays. My Sundays, I think I’m pretty happy with. They’ve been pretty strong. All of my Sundays, the pace has been good. I’m happy and confident.“
“The pace is there and I feel like I’m the best at the beginning. I just make my life too tough on Saturday. So, you know, I’m just making myself work for it. It makes my Sundays a little bit more fun at times. I just miss out on the trophies and the opportunities. I’ve got to work on my Saturdays. And if I can work on my Saturdays, I’m confident I can come back to where I was.“
