Lando Norris said the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix proved that McLaren are not as far ahead as people have suggested so far this season.
Team-mate Oscar Piastri won the race from second on the grid to usurp Norris at the head of the world championship but only finished 2.8s ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had earlier served a five-second penalty at his pit stop for cutting the race’s first corner in a wheel-to-wheel battle with the Australian.
Norris, meanwhile, recovered well from the crash in qualifying that left him 10th on the grid to finish fourth, although a late attempt to chase down Charles Leclerc for third saw him come up one second short of the Ferrari.
And asked about the strong performances of the lead Red Bull and Ferrari cars, Norris told Sky Sports F1: “I don’t know why people are so surprised, they’re just as quick in most sessions, they’re just as quick as us in the race.
“Just because we’re quick in practice, people just keep coming up with all this c**p.
“I mean, they can keep saying what they want. We don’t believe we’re much ahead, as showed. I think probably Max was the quickest out there today if he didn’t have that five-second penalty, so we have work to do.
Highlights of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
“People keep saying that we’re the best, we’re the quickest, blah, blah, blah, but it’s just because we show a bit more pace in practice and then we don’t have anything left when it gets to qualy, but that’s our way of doing things.
“That’s how we feel, we optimise things. If we didn’t do it that way, we’d be even further back, so no, I’m happy with the work we’re doing.
“People just need to recalibrate that we’re not… we have a great car and probably the quickest on average for sure, but clearly not enough.”
Norris suffered a massive crash in his McLaren during Q3
Norris sets target to have ‘better Saturdays’
Given Norris had predicted after his big setback in qualifying that he would need some good fortune to even finish in the top five with the limited overtaking opportunities offered up by the fast Jeddah street track, the Briton appeared satisfied with his evening’s work to come away with 12 points for fourth.
He said he was “pleased on the whole” with the recovery drive and result, although admitted: “I make life tough for myself”.
“I think it’s the best we could have done today,” said Norris, who now trails Piastri by 10 points in the standings after five rounds of the 24-race campaign.
“Of course, it’s a shame to miss out on a podium. We were close. It’s always hard to judge those things.
Lewis Hamilton and Norris battled
“Charles drove a good race, a good first stint, and gave himself that opportunity to have a decent set of tyres in the second half.
“I think I only boxed four or five laps after, so not enough to get him. I’m pleased on the whole, I just make life tough for myself, especially when it’s a race like that. It would have been much easier, a lot more chilled, just to drive at the front.
“In some ways it’s a bit easier, so I’ve got to help myself out a little bit and have better Saturdays.”
Norris had told the team similar on the radio, saying: “Just got to work on my Saturdays, and we’ll be good.”
Formula 1 heads to Miami for a Sprint weekend on May 2-4, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Crystal Palace relegated from Women’s Super League with 7-1 defeat to West Ham
Crystal Palace have been relegated from the Women’s Super League following their 7-1 defeat to West Ham United.The defeat left them an insurmountable seven points behind 11th-place Aston Villa with two games remaining and ensures they will return to the Championship after just one season in the top flight.AdvertisementSunday’s defeat to West Ham saw Shekiera Martinez score four goals for the visitors alongside Viviane Asseyi finding the net and Emma Harries scoring twice, with Katie Stengel getting a consolation for Palace.Palace were promoted to the WSL for the first time in their history last season but have won only two of their 20 league games this term and collected just nine points.They beat Leicester City in their third league outing of the season but then embarked on a 12-game winless run, picking up just three points between October 13 and […]
Rovanperä suverénně vyhrál Rallye Kanárských ostrovů
KomentářeKOMENTÁŘ: Slavia a krásná budoucnost. Ligu může drtit i dál, má luxus jako nikdy předtímOcitli se ve zlatém transu. Kapitán Bořil stříkal vodou po náhradnících, ač ještě v Olomouci nezazněl závěrečný hvizd. Po něm Trpišovského asistent Houštecký i s operovanými kyčlemi skákal jako gumový medvídek. Ohromná euforie! V kabině uprostřed mumraje, dýmu z doutníků i kapek šampaňského se stoper Ogbu zaposlouchal do melodie znělky Ligy mistrů. Na podzim ji s kolegy minimálně osmkrát uslyší. Nejen proto se před fotbalovou Slavií rozprostírá luxus a bezva měsíce.Dnes 12:59
The Rockets blew it against the Jimmy Butler-less Warriors. They might regret it
SAN FRANCISCO — Let’s go back to the night of April 6 for a moment.It was the same two teams, the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors, in a regular-season finale everyone knew might be a playoff preview. Same location, the Chase Center, a building where the Warriors had been so dominant since adding Jimmy Butler at the February trade deadline.AdvertisementBut the result was different, an impressive 10-point win for the visitors that seemed to carry some sort of deeper meaning. Maybe, just maybe, this Rockets team could exorcise the Warriors demons that have haunted them for so long.Unlike the version of the Rockets that blew a … golden … opportunity to take the 2-1 series lead Saturday, falling 104-93 in Game 3 to a Warriors team that was without Butler (pelvic contusion), the April 6 Rockets looked like […]
Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay in contention for Southampton job as Saints eye quick Premier League return
Getty Images Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay has emerged as an early candidate for the vacancy at Southampton, sources have told CBS Sports. Southampton remain in the formative stages of finding a coach who will lead them in the Championship next season, the south coast side having endured a disastrous Premier League campaign that has seen them register just 11 points from 34 games. Ramsay is among a number of names under consideration as the Saints plot an immediate return to the top flight.Ramsay, 33, has been one of the most highly regarded in the English game having spent time working as a player development coach at Chelsea before moving to Manchester United, where he worked as a player development coach under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer while also aiding the Welsh national team. When he joined Minnesota in February 2024, he […]
How 48 hours of rage and recrimination overshadowed the Copa del Rey final
Real Madrid were launching one desperate last attempt to save Saturday’s Copa del Rey final when referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea signalled a free kick against forward Kylian Mbappe.With the game well past the 120-minute mark, everyone in Seville’s Estadio Cartuja realised that Barcelona were about to win the game 3-2 and lift the trophy.AdvertisementOn the sidelines, Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, who, a few minutes earlier, had limped off the pitch injured, leapt to his feet and appeared to throw a bag of ice he had been holding against his leg in the direction of the referee.Amid chaotic scenes, De Burgos Bengoetxea showed a red card to Rudiger, and another to Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez, who had entered the pitch to protest despite having also been substituted earlier.The Basque official then blew the final whistle, and while Barcelona’s players celebrated their […]
NFL Draft: Ranking QBs taken in Rounds 1-3 since 2023 by situation, including Cam Ward, Tyler Shough
Imagn Images The 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books, and this year's event wasn't without its share of drama. All eyes were on Colorado's Shedeur Sanders as he slipped from consensus first-round target into Day 3, but plenty of other big names found some surprising homes. That includes Sanders' fellow quarterbacks like Tyler Shough, who could end up opening 2025 as the New Orleans Saints' starter; and Jalen Milroe, who's set to watch and learn behind Sam Darnold in the Seattle Seahawks' new-look offense.Talent and smarts alone can certainly elevate young quarterbacks out of the gate. Just look at what C.J. Stroud did in 2023, or what Jayden Daniels did in 2024. More often than not, however, NFL quarterbacks are only as effective as their supporting casts -- their playmakers, their protection, their coaching, etc. And that might […]
Related
Crystal Palace relegated from Women’s Super League with 7-1 defeat to West Ham
Crystal Palace have been relegated from the Women’s Super League following their 7-1 defeat to West Ham United.The defeat left them an insurmountable seven points behind 11th-place Aston Villa with two games remaining and ensures they will return to the Championship after just one season in the top flight.AdvertisementSunday’s defeat to West Ham saw Shekiera Martinez score four goals for the visitors alongside Viviane Asseyi finding the net and Emma Harries scoring twice, with Katie Stengel getting a consolation for Palace.Palace were promoted to the WSL for the first time in their history last season but have won only two of their 20 league games this term and collected just nine points.They beat Leicester City in their third league outing of the season but then embarked on a 12-game winless run, picking up just three points between October 13 and […]
Rovanperä suverénně vyhrál Rallye Kanárských ostrovů
KomentářeKOMENTÁŘ: Slavia a krásná budoucnost. Ligu může drtit i dál, má luxus jako nikdy předtímOcitli se ve zlatém transu. Kapitán Bořil stříkal vodou po náhradnících, ač ještě v Olomouci nezazněl závěrečný hvizd. Po něm Trpišovského asistent Houštecký i s operovanými kyčlemi skákal jako gumový medvídek. Ohromná euforie! V kabině uprostřed mumraje, dýmu z doutníků i kapek šampaňského se stoper Ogbu zaposlouchal do melodie znělky Ligy mistrů. Na podzim ji s kolegy minimálně osmkrát uslyší. Nejen proto se před fotbalovou Slavií rozprostírá luxus a bezva měsíce.Dnes 12:59
The Rockets blew it against the Jimmy Butler-less Warriors. They might regret it
SAN FRANCISCO — Let’s go back to the night of April 6 for a moment.It was the same two teams, the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors, in a regular-season finale everyone knew might be a playoff preview. Same location, the Chase Center, a building where the Warriors had been so dominant since adding Jimmy Butler at the February trade deadline.AdvertisementBut the result was different, an impressive 10-point win for the visitors that seemed to carry some sort of deeper meaning. Maybe, just maybe, this Rockets team could exorcise the Warriors demons that have haunted them for so long.Unlike the version of the Rockets that blew a … golden … opportunity to take the 2-1 series lead Saturday, falling 104-93 in Game 3 to a Warriors team that was without Butler (pelvic contusion), the April 6 Rockets looked like […]
Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay in contention for Southampton job as Saints eye quick Premier League return
Getty Images Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay has emerged as an early candidate for the vacancy at Southampton, sources have told CBS Sports. Southampton remain in the formative stages of finding a coach who will lead them in the Championship next season, the south coast side having endured a disastrous Premier League campaign that has seen them register just 11 points from 34 games. Ramsay is among a number of names under consideration as the Saints plot an immediate return to the top flight.Ramsay, 33, has been one of the most highly regarded in the English game having spent time working as a player development coach at Chelsea before moving to Manchester United, where he worked as a player development coach under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer while also aiding the Welsh national team. When he joined Minnesota in February 2024, he […]
How 48 hours of rage and recrimination overshadowed the Copa del Rey final
Real Madrid were launching one desperate last attempt to save Saturday’s Copa del Rey final when referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea signalled a free kick against forward Kylian Mbappe.With the game well past the 120-minute mark, everyone in Seville’s Estadio Cartuja realised that Barcelona were about to win the game 3-2 and lift the trophy.AdvertisementOn the sidelines, Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, who, a few minutes earlier, had limped off the pitch injured, leapt to his feet and appeared to throw a bag of ice he had been holding against his leg in the direction of the referee.Amid chaotic scenes, De Burgos Bengoetxea showed a red card to Rudiger, and another to Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez, who had entered the pitch to protest despite having also been substituted earlier.The Basque official then blew the final whistle, and while Barcelona’s players celebrated their […]
NFL Draft: Ranking QBs taken in Rounds 1-3 since 2023 by situation, including Cam Ward, Tyler Shough
Imagn Images The 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books, and this year's event wasn't without its share of drama. All eyes were on Colorado's Shedeur Sanders as he slipped from consensus first-round target into Day 3, but plenty of other big names found some surprising homes. That includes Sanders' fellow quarterbacks like Tyler Shough, who could end up opening 2025 as the New Orleans Saints' starter; and Jalen Milroe, who's set to watch and learn behind Sam Darnold in the Seattle Seahawks' new-look offense.Talent and smarts alone can certainly elevate young quarterbacks out of the gate. Just look at what C.J. Stroud did in 2023, or what Jayden Daniels did in 2024. More often than not, however, NFL quarterbacks are only as effective as their supporting casts -- their playmakers, their protection, their coaching, etc. And that might […]
Be the first to leave a comment