Lando Norris suggested that the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix demonstrated that McLaren is not as significantly ahead of other teams as some have been saying this season.
His teammate, Oscar Piastri, secured victory in the race after starting second on the grid, taking the lead in the championship standings over Norris. However, Piastri`s win was only by a narrow 2.8-second margin over Red Bull`s Max Verstappen. Verstappen had to serve a five-second penalty during his pit stop for not properly navigating the first corner while battling wheel-to-wheel with Piastri.
Norris himself had a strong recovery drive, finishing fourth after starting from 10th place due to a qualifying crash. He attempted to overtake Charles Leclerc for third place in the closing stages of the race but fell just one second short of the Ferrari.
When questioned about the strong performance of Red Bull and Ferrari, Norris told reporters, “I`m not sure why people are surprised. They`ve been just as fast in most sessions, and they`re just as quick as us in the race.”
He added, “Just because we show good pace in practice, people keep making assumptions.”
“They can say what they want. We don`t think we`re that far ahead, as you could see. Max was probably the fastest today if he hadn`t had the penalty, so we still have work to do.”
Regarding his own race, Norris acknowledged that he had predicted a challenging race to even finish in the top five due to the difficulty of overtaking at the Jeddah street circuit after his poor qualifying. He seemed satisfied with finishing fourth and earning 12 points.
He stated he was “generally happy” with his recovery and result, but admitted, “I make things difficult for myself.”
“I think this was the best we could have achieved today,” Norris said, who is now 10 points behind Piastri in the championship after five races.
“It`s a bit disappointing to miss out on a podium. We were close. It`s always hard to judge these things.”
“Charles raced well, especially in the first stint, which gave him the advantage of fresher tires later in the race.”
“I think I pitted only four or five laps later, so it wasn`t enough to catch him. Overall, I`m happy, but I do create extra challenges for myself, particularly in races like this. It would be much simpler and more relaxed to race at the front.”
“In some ways, it`s easier at the front, so I need to improve my Saturdays,” referring to his qualifying performance.
Norris also communicated to his team over the radio, “I just need to focus on improving my Saturdays, and we`ll be in a good position.”
