Championship leader and McLaren driver Lando Norris starts P6 for the F1 Bahrain GP after an extremely underwhelming performance in qualifying on Saturday evening. He was over 0.4s off polesitter and teammate Oscar Piastri.
The British driver has been vocal about his struggles with the MCL39 since the season started despite leading the championship, and it hit its lowest point in Bahrain this weekend.
Throughout practice he looked off the pace, particularly in FP3. While Q1 and Q2 went better, Norris could not find the big step most of the others did in Q3, leaving him behind the two Mercedes drivers, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly as well.
Lando Norris takes full responsibility for his poor showing in F1 Bahrain GP qualifying
Speaking in the print media zone after qualifying, the British driver was dismayed and took all the blame for his poor showing.
“I mean, it was just every lap, honestly. I’ve been off every lap this weekend. Just not comfortable.
“No big complaints. The car’s amazing. The car’s as good as it has been the whole season, which is strong.
“I’ve been off it all weekend. Don’t know why. Just clueless on track at the minute, so I don’t know.
“I just need a big reset or something. Just not quick enough.”
Norris says he can have no complaints about the car as Piastri maximises the potential of the MCL39
When asked why the car is so tricky to drive for him, the five-time race winner refused to look for excuses.
“I don’t know, because Oscar’s doing a great job, so I can’t complain.
“I’m not going to have the excuse that I can’t drive my car. It’s my job to drive whatever car I’ve got, whether it’s easy or hard. I’m not doing a good enough job.
“The team are doing an amazing job. I’m not going to complain about the car not suiting my needs.
“Yeah, I’m not comfortable. It doesn’t drive the way I like, but that’s not an excuse. The driver’s job is to drive whatever car they’re given, and I can’t drive this car quick enough at the minute.”
Trying to adapt to the MCL39 is not working for Lando Norris
Although the 25-year-old is doing his best to try and understand the car by taking different approaches through each session, it is not working out on a consistent basis.
The F1 Chinese GP weekend had already showed Lando Norris was unhappy in the MCL39 as he could only qualify P6 for the Sprint, finishing 8th in the race itself.
While he finished ahead of Oscar Piastri at Suzuka last weekend, the Aussie looked to be quicker on the hard tyre in the final stint of the race.
Qualifying in Bahrain has left the McLaren man feeling dejected.
“I just don’t know how to approach it. I can’t figure it out.
“Every time I try something, it’s good for one session, and then it’s the wrong thing for the next session, because the wind changes [direction].
“I just can’t flow with the car, and when I can’t flow, I’m just not very quick. I’ve just got to work on myself.
“I can’t fault the team, and the car is the best by a long way. But clearly, I’m just not clicking with it.”
The strong form of Oscar Piastri not a concern for Lando Norris
At the end of his chat in the print media zone at the F1 Bahrain GP, Lando Norris says he is not concerned about Oscar Piastri or anyone else on the grid as he looks to find solutions to his problems with the MCL39.
Nonetheless, he did praise the job his teammate is doing.
“Couldn’t care less.
“Like I said, I care about myself. I don’t care about what the others do.
“I’ve always known Oscar’s good, and he’s quick, and he’s doing the job I know he can achieve with the car that we’ve got. So yeah, well done to him.
“But I’m more worried about my own performance than others, so I don’t care about the rest at the minute.”
