Lando Norris is struggling with this year’s McLaren car, and this issue will not be resolved by the upcoming weekend. This was evident in Bahrain, ahead of the fourth Grand Prix of the season. “I don’t feel comfortable,” he admits.
There is a consensus in Formula 1 that the MCL39 is the best car on the field. Norris also acknowledges that McLaren has a fast car, a car with which he can compete for the world title despite his current struggles. However, the British driver repeats in Bahrain what he said before the Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished second behind Max Verstappen: the car doesn’t suit him.
“It was already tricky in Japan, I still can’t quite grasp it. I’m working with the team to find the best way to handle the car, but there are still things we don’t have answers to. You want to start a season perfectly, knowing everything, how to approach the qualification and the race. But I haven’t reached that point yet.”
However, his struggles do not mean that Norris is panicking. The Brit leads the world championship with a one-point lead over Verstappen and sees a light at the end of the tunnel. “It’s certainly not going badly. I’m not miles away, but I’m still not at the level of comfort in the car that I want to be.”
