“It's quite a boring race”: Lando Norris comes clean on an unexciting Saudi Arabian GP

Lando Norris believes there wasn’t much more to gain from the Saudi Arabian GP beyond a fourth-place finish. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the McLaren driver expressed contentment with his recovery drive from tenth on the grid to fourth.

After crashing out in qualifying due to an error on the unforgiving Jeddah circuit, Norris was left to start the race from tenth. With the race being a one-stop strategy, he had to rely on tire management to make his way through the field. He eventually crossed the line in fourth, finishing just a second behind Charles Leclerc, who secured the final spot on the podium.

According to Norris, there wasn’t much more he could have done to climb higher, particularly when it came to overtaking the Ferrari. He pointed out that Jeddah’s high-speed, flat-out nature makes it physically demanding and limits overtaking opportunities. He felt Leclerc had a strong pace and had maximised his opening stint on the medium tires, making it difficult for him to close the gap to the frontrunners.

Asked by Sportskeeda if he could have pushed harder or started his charge earlier, Lando Norris said:

“I was pushing as much as I could I did everything there's no degradation here you just push flat out you know. It's in a way why it's quite a boring race because there's no deg. So it's a flat out race from lap 1 to lap 50 and makes it physically tough. But no I did everything I could I pushed as much as I could no big mistakes really. So I was happy.”

Explaining his race further, he added:

“I mean Charles was quick you know I mean the pace was very strong. To finish nine seconds off of the lead was a little bit surprising so showed our pace was pretty good. Mainly considering the clean air around here it’s just a dream. The little stint when soon as Charles boxed my pace was very good of course I was quite as good as the leaders on new tyres. But clean air around here is beautiful. So I made the most of that and Charles just did a very good first stint on the medium and therefore I didn't have a big tire dial to compare to him.

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Lando Norris isn’t surprised at Oscar Piastri being in the lead of the Drivers' championship

Lando Norris wasn’t surprised that Oscar Piastri is leading the Drivers’ championship, as he felt that his own mistakes in qualifying have made his Sundays more difficult. However, he believes his race performances have been much better and largely flawless, and reckons it’s only a matter of time before he returns to performing at the level he was at previously. Piastri currently leads the Brit by ten points in the championship.

According to Norris, the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull was significantly stronger than that of McLaren. He felt that Max Verstappen was the fastest driver in the race. The Dutchman had taken pole position in Jeddah and finished just 2.6 seconds behind Piastri. As a result, Norris concluded that McLaren still has work to do to improve their overall performance. Despite that, he was pleased with his recovery drive from tenth to fourth.

Asked about his thoughts on his teammate leading the Drivers' championship, Lando Norris said:

“I'm not surprised because of all the mistakes I’ve made on my 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 have the confidence. The pace is there and I feel like I'm the best at the minute. But I just, I make my life too tough on Saturday, so, you know, I'm just, I'm making myself work for it makes my Sundays a little bit more fun at times. I just miss out on the trophies and the apple juice. So, I gotta work on my Saturdays, and if I can work on my Saturdays I'm gonna go on for it, I can get back to where I was.”

Commenting on his performance, he added:

“So nothing more the Ferrari was quick for Charles. Obviously Max was quick as well and clearly we didn't have much of an advantage you know. If anything you would say Max was probably the quickest out there to hit which means we have some work to do. Clearly that was just not an easy race. But we're not quicker than the rest and because of my mistakes like yesterday and things like that, I pay the price and I make my life very tough for myself, so I'm happy enough."

Lando Norris is currently second in the Drivers’ championship with 89 points. Oscar Piastri leads the standings with 99 points, while Max Verstappen is close behind in third with 87 points, just two points behind Norris. The high-speed layout of the Jeddah circuit suited Red Bull more than most other tracks this season, allowing them to show stronger performance. In the Constructors’ championship, McLaren lead with 188 points. Mercedes is second with 111 points, followed by Red Bull in third with 89 points. Ferrari is fourth with 78 points.