‘Nothing’s a guarantee’ admits Lando Norris ahead of F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

It was a case of the glass being half-full, or half-empty, for Lando Norris at the Bahrain Grand Prix a week ago.

On the one hand, Norris managed to recover from a difficult qualifying session to finish on the podium, making it four-for-for in podium finishes in Grands Prix this season. That is the kind of recovery drive that keeps you in contention for a Drivers’ Championship.

On the other hand, McLaren’s MCL39 was again the dominant package last week — as evidenced by Norris topping the timing sheets during practice and teammate Oscar Piastri taking both pole position and the win — yet Norris stumbled in Q3 to qualify sixth. While he did manage a strong recovery it could have been better, had he not been penalized for a false start for being outside his grid box before the lights went out. That forced McLaren to bring him into the pits on the earlier side of his first stint to serve the penalty.

“Every time I did something good I did two bad,” conceded Norris after the race.

Speaking with the media in Jeddah ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Norris admitted that he needed a “reset” after Bahrain.

“I needed a couple of days off and needed a reset, I probably would have liked a few more days off, but I made the most of them,” Norris told media in Saudi Arabia.

“I think with every athlete, as much as you try to get away, you’re still thinking about a lot of things, and for a lot of the time, I was still thinking about the difficulties that I’ve been struggling with.”

In fact, Norris himself admitted that there are two sides to his 2025 story. Yes, there have been mistakes, and areas where he could have done better. But he enters the fifth race weekend of the season leading in the Drivers’ Championship, won in the season opener, and has perhaps the fastest car on the grid.

“I’ve tried to force myself to think of what a success the start of the season has been, yes, I know it could have been better.

“I have to get reminded that I’m leading the championship, won the first race, and been on the podium every race, so I have to be reminded of them rather than being able to remind myself.

“I want to achieve my potential, and at the moment, I am not achieving my potential, and there is no reason for me to be happy with that.”

Regarding the MCL39, Norris also conceded that he has made some adjustments to his driving style, and he is “having to adapt” to McLaren’s 2025 challenger.

“There are things I’m going to try to do differently and learn about. I have a different approach to things in order to perform better,” said the McLaren driver. “I’m being forced to drive in a different way and a different manner that I’m not used to and that is not normal for me at all. Nothing’s a guarantee.”

Norris did not outline what he needs to improve — or where the MCL39 needs to improve — but noted that the need to adapt is easing the pressure in his mind.

“I’m not going to be able to drive like I did last year and like I know I’m good at, which is weird to say in my seventh season of F1,” said Norris.

“But I’m still learning things. The car is definitely different to how it’s been. I’m having to adapt a lot in uncomfortable ways, but I come in with probably less pressure because I probably understand a bit better some of these reasons.

“I think I’m more accepting of the struggles and the challenges that I have at the minute.”

Piastri’s win in Bahrain made him the first repeat winner of the 2025 season, and vaulted the third-year driver to favorite status in the minds of many observers.

Now we get to see how Norris, who entered the year as the favorite in the Drivers’ Championship race, responds.