It was a case that the glass was half full, or half empty, for Lando Norris in the Bahrein Grand Prix a week ago.
On the one hand, Norris managed to recover from a difficult classification session to end on the podium, which makes it four by why it is so that the Grands Prix this season. That is the recovery child who keeps him content for a driver championship.
On the other hand, McLaren’s MCL39 was again the dominant package last week, as Norris demonstrated that it exceeded the duration of the timing leaves and his teammate Oscar Pibastri Bar both the pole position and victory, but Norris stumbled on Q3 to qualify sixth. Although he handled a strong recovery, he could better bone, he had not penalized his grid box before Bezide before Beezide before the lights came out. That forced McLare to take him to the wells on the previous side of his first period to fulfill the penalty.
“Every time I did something good, it was two bad,” Norris was after the race.
Talking to the media in Jeddah before the Gran Abia Saudi prize this weekend, Norris admitted that he needed a “restart” after Bahrain.
“I needed a couple of days off and I needed a restart, I would probably liked a few days more free, but I took the most of,” Norris told half in Saudi Arabia.
“I think with each athlete, no matter how much you try to escape, you are still thinking about many things, and for most of the time, I was still thinking about the difficulties I have fought on the legs.”
In fact, Norris himself admitted that there are two sides in his history of 2025. Yes, there are bone nebes and areas where he could have done better. But he enters the fifth weekend of the season of the season leading in the pilot championship, won in the first game of the season and may have the fastest car on the network.
“I have tried to force myself to think about the success of the beginning of the season, yes, I know that a better bone could have.
“I have to remember that I am leading the championship, I won the first race and the leg on the podium in each race, so I have to remember them instead of being able to remind myself.
“I want to achieve my potential, and at this time, I am not achieving my potential, and there is no reason for me to be happy.”
With respect to the MCL39, Norris also admitted that he has made some adjustments to his driving style, and is “having to adapt” to the McLaren 2025 Challenger.
“There are things that I will try to do differently and learn. I have a different approach to things for performance,” said McLaren’s driver. “I am forced to drive in a different way and in a different way than that I am not used to it and that is not normal for me. Nothing is a guarantee.”
Norris did not describe what he needs to improve, or where he needs to improve the MCL39, but pointed out that the need to adapt is reliefing the pressure in his mind.
“I will not be able to drive as I did last year and since I know that I am good, which is strange to say in my seventh season of F1,” said Norris.
“But I am still learning things. The car is definitely what bone is like. I have to adapt a lot in uncomfortable ways, but I probably come less pressure, it is likely that some of the areas are a little better.
“I think I am more acceptance of the struggles and challenges I have at the time.”
Pastri’s victory in Bahrain made him the first repeated winner of the 2025 season, and jumped to the third year pilot to the favorite state in the minds of many observers.
Now we can see how Norris, who entered a year as the favorite in the race of the pilots championship, responds.