Lando Norris has reflected on a difficult recovery drive at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
Following his dramatic Q3 crash, Norris had significant work to do on Sunday evening to salvage a result. Losing his championship lead to Oscar Piastri by the end of the evening, his on-track efforts were rewarded with a P4 finish. Third was a tantalising possibility, however, a well-managed race from Charles Leclerc denied the Briton the final step on the podium.
Speaking to media after the race, Norris remarked about the need for clean air around Jeddah when asked if he achieved the maximum result available.
“I think so, I mean Charles was quick, the pace was very strong to finish 9 seconds off the lead was a little bit surprising, so showed our pace was pretty, yeah very good.
“Mainly considering the clean air around here, it’s just a dream. That little stint when soon as Charles boxed, my pace was very good, of course I was quite as good as the lead is.
“The air around here is beautiful. So I made the most, Charles just did a very good stint on the medium and then I didn’t have a big tyre doubt comparing to him, so nothing more.
“The Ferrari was great but for Charles, he seemed to be quick as well and clearly we didn’t have a front issue, if anything you can say about the result.It was a good experience, good work to do.
Taking the positives from a tough evening in Jeddah
Norris owned up to his mistakes from Saturday, stating he was happy with the recovery drive on Sunday.
“We look good, we’re probably the most consistent team, but we’re not quicker than the rest. Because of my mistakes like yesterday and things like that, I paid the price and I made my life very tough for myself, so I’m happy enough”
When asked if he could have pushed more to pass Leclerc, Norris bluntly responded with his thoughts.
“No, I was chilling. Come on, silly question, I was pushing as much as I could, I did everything. There’s no degradation here, you just push flat out.”
“In a way it’s quite a boring race because it’s not thick, so it’s a flat out race from lap 1 to lap 3. It 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.”
Norris admitted he was not surprised at losing the championship lead, and said he had work to do to return to winning form.
“I’ve been confident, the pace is there and I feel like I’m the best at the minute, but I just make my life too tough on Saturday. So, yeah, I’m just making myself more free, makes my Saturdays a little bit more fun at times. I’d like to see some of the trophies and the accolades.
“I’ve got to work on my Saturdays, and if I can work on my Saturdays I’m confident I can come back to where I was.
