Norris Cautions Against McLaren Hype After Leading… Read More
Lando Norris has urged caution despite McLaren’s strong showing in Friday practice ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, where the team impressively topped both sessions. Norris led the first practice, and in the evening’s second session, he and teammate Oscar Piastri secured a commanding 1-2 finish, with the McLarens nearly half a second clear of George Russell’s Mercedes in third.
However, Norris played down the significance of the results, describing the day as “horrendous” due to the unexpectedly tough conditions. He noted that the team struggled with tyre degradation, particularly during long runs, which differed greatly from the cooler conditions experienced during pre-season testing in Bahrain just a few weeks earlier.
“It’s been a difficult day, just re-adapting to the reality of Bahrain and the challenges it brings,” Norris said. “Degradation today was incredible compared to the test. Everything felt dreadful, but relatively, our pace was still in a decent place. Overall, it was just a reasonable Friday.”
When asked whether the struggles stemmed from car setup or the conditions, Norris pointed to the latter, blaming the high temperatures and strong winds for the team’s discomfort. “It’s just the temperature – that makes such a big difference,” he explained. “It’s the same for everyone, but managing the rear tyres is a huge challenge. We came into this weekend with a lot of data from testing, but we basically had to throw it all out – today was just so different.”
Norris also suggested that McLaren’s advantage on the timesheets may be misleading, believing rival teams such as Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari have yet to reveal their true pace. “I just don’t think they turned up,” he said. “Everyone sees the timesheets, but they don’t know who’s showing their hand and who isn’t. A few tenths here or there could put us back on par with Mercedes.”
Teammate Oscar Piastri echoed Norris’s sentiments, stating that while McLaren’s pace was encouraging, the team remained cautious about their race prospects given Bahrain’s challenging conditions. “I’m pretty happy – the car felt good, especially in FP2. The one-lap pace looked strong, and our long-run pace was decent too,” Piastri commented.
When asked if he was surprised by the margin to the rest of the field, Piastri replied, “Yes and no. It was a bit of a surprise for it to be that big, but I think others will catch up tomorrow. It’ll be close.”
He added that McLaren still needs to ensure their car is competitive over race distance, not just in qualifying, given Bahrain’s high tyre degradation and opportunities for overtaking.
