Norris: 'Even Williams seems to be much faster than us'

McLaren driver Lando Norris spoke briefly to F1.com, but said plenty in the brief interview about his team's current form and reliability. The driver can still smile (sourly), but is patently dissatisfied.

Thus, his first practice session on Friday of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix was dramatic. In FP2, the Briton came back and finished P12. Norris indicated that his second practice was more representative than the first; in FP1 he did not set fast laps. The only problem is that the midfield is so close together that a small mistake could be the difference between P10 and P20.

McLaren slower than Williams?

McLaren did not build a strong car over the winter and the team seems to have lost touch with former rival Alpine. Norris says: "Alpine are up the road on the whole midfield pack and even Williams, they seem a lot quicker than than us too. But yeah, just doing our best with what we've got."

And what Norris has is not only slow, but also does not yet appear to be very reliable. McLaren changed its engine after just one race. Remarkably, this engine change was not precautionary. "No, I took a whole new engine, because the other one is finished," Norris concluded with a sour smile.