"If I make a little mistake, I’m last place": Lando Norris' dejected outlook after the first day of running in Jeddah

Lando Norris was downcast after the first two practice sessions of the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP, where he finished 20th and 12th.

Speaking to the media, Norris stated that the second practice session was much better than the first. However, he admits that any mistake will leave him in last place. He said:

"FP2 a little bit more so than FP1, I didn’t do my lap in FP1, but it’s close. If I make a little mistake, I’m last place. So it’s very close all the midfield."

Later on, he mentioned how Alpine has jumped ahead of the midfield pack this season and even a lower midfield team like Williams is slightly faster than McLaren at the moment. Despite all these issues, Norris concluded that he will make the most of the race weekend. He said:

"Alpine are up the road on the whole midfield pack, so they’ve jumped more to the front. And even Williams seem a lot quicker than us too. It feels alright to be honest the car, I’m struggling quite a bit with the overall balance but yeah, just doing the best with what we’ve got."

McLaren is one of the teams to have taken a massive step back since 2022. Lando Norris might still be able to perform and pick up a few points throughout the season, but the going is likely to be extremely difficult for rookie Oscar Piastri.

---

Lando Norris positive ahead of 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Despite McLaren not having enough performance, Lando Norris is positive ahead of the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP. He recalled how the team was unable to score points in the Bahrain GP due to certain issues. Hence, his aim is to make up for what they lost in the first race of the season. He said:

"I would say so, I think for what we believe we should have achieved last weekend in Bahrain and absolutely. You know, I believe we should have been in the top 10, scored some points in Bahrain, if we didn't have the issues. So our plan is to limit that, not have any issues and try again and make up for (what) we lost."

Although it is clear that McLaren is nowhere near the head of the midfield table, Lando Norris still believes he can finish in the top 10.