Norris 'forced to drive differently' with McLaren MCL39

He may be the championship leader in Formula 1 – certainly with a tiny lead – but still, Lando Norris is far from being the most serene driver in the field. Since his victory in Australia, for the opening round of the season, the Briton has made a series of small errors and has no longer managed to surpass his teammate, Oscar piastri, winner of two of the last three races. The vice-world champion admits it: he has not yet managed to adapt completely to the McLaren MCL39.

After the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he finished 3rd, far behind his garage neighbour, he had been quite hard on himself in a rare self-criticism for a Formula 1 driver. At fault during qualifying (only 6th), and guilty of a silly mistake on the starting grid (overtaking the starting position), the Englishman took full responsibility for his performance after the race. A week later, in Jeddah, Lando Norris looked back on his Bahrain weekend and his difficulties at the start of the season.

Norris limited in his piloting

"I am forced to drive in a different way, one I am not used to., he confided at the Formula 1 microphone, Thursday, ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. I'm not happy with how the last few weekends have gone, not because they've been bad, but because they haven't been as good as they should have been and could have been. I try to do my best and when things don't go as planned, I get a little disappointed. One of the things I have to do is drive in different ways and learn different things, and that's something I know I have to try to do this weekend."

"I won't necessarily be able to drive like I did last year, the way I know I'm good at, added Lando Norris, who acknowledges that he is not as strong as in 2024 for the moment. It's weird to say for my seventh season in F1, but I'm still learning things. The car is definitely different than it was [in 2024], so I have to adapt in an uncomfortable way. But I'm coming in with probably less pressure, I'm putting less pressure on myself because I probably understand some of those reasons a little bit better."

After the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lando Norris received Andrea Stella's support but also Sebastian Vettel, who had highlighted and praised the British driver's openness regarding his difficulties in 2025. In Saudi Arabia, facing an Oscar Piastri in the form of his life, the vice-world champion will have to come to terms with his difficulties and achieve a good result against his teammate in order to regain the psychological advantage, which is currently in the Australian's favor. However, it is not certain that the Corniche circuit is the easiest circuit to regain confidence in his car…It’s up to Lando Norris to show us otherwise.

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