Speaking Friday after the second practice session at the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Lando Norris admitted that he was “confident,” but not “comfortable” with McLaren’s pace.
That comfort level might be rising in the hours ahead of qualifying.
Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two in the final practice session of the week, with Norris’ time of 1:27.489 just 0.024 seconds ahead of Piastri.
However, that time was also the fastest of the three practice sessions, and it put Norris a whopping 0.627 seconds of George Russell, as the Mercedes driver slotted in third.
Max Verstappen, the reigning Drivers’ Champion, came in fourth. His time was over eight-tenths behind Norris. Charles Leclerc rounded out the top five.
Now, attention turns to qualifying, with the expectation that McLaren will lock out the front row given how both Norris and Piastri have performed this week.
However, it was not too long ago when that was the same scenario ahead of qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix. Instead, it was Verstappen who stunned the field — and the McLaren duo — by taking pole position. The Red Bull driver would go on to win the Japanese Grand Prix, giving McLaren something to think about in the following days.
Perhaps those lessons have been learned.
