Lando Norris has defended his team after a poor start to the 2023 F1 season; British driver also responds to speculation over his future with McLaren watch the Saudi Arabian GP live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend, starting with Practice One at 1pm on Friday
Friday 17 March 2023 12:32, UK
Lando Norris believes his McLaren team are "far from" crisis but says "harsh criticism is acceptable" after their poor start to the 2023 Formula 1 season.
Norris was last among the 17 cars that finished the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month after suffering from a pressure leak in his engine that caused him to pit six times, while his team-mate Oscar Piastri retired with an electrical issue.
McLaren admitted ahead of the season that they expected to make a slow start, but their chaotic opening-round performance failed to match even the lowest expectations for a team that narrowly missed out on fourth in last season's Constructors' Championship.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Norris pushed back when asked whether the team was in crisis.
"It's far from that," he said. "With Oscar's problem it was an issue we'd had the first time we've seen in years, so I'm confident that's fixed.
"And from my issue Mercedes (McLaren's engine suppliers) are sure they fixed that and again it's something that hasn't happened for years and years.
"Everyone makes it sounds a lot worse than it is, calling it a crisis, it's far from that, it's not even close to it."
On his expectations for the weekend ahead, Norris said he is confident that McLaren can compete in the midfield.
"I don't think we're that far away," he said.
"From McLaren's expectations we are far from where we want to be, but we have a very clear plan."
McLaren's poor start to the season has also resulted in speculation over Norris' future with the team intensifying.
The 23-year-old is contracted to McLaren until the end of the 2025 season, but some doubt whether one of the most highly-rated drivers on the grid will be willing to stay if performance doesn't improve.
Norris said that "harsh criticism" of the team is acceptable and that the rumours largely don't affect him, but did hit out at what he described as "fake stories".
"I guess I'm at a point where it doesn't affect me in any way," he said. "I'm, I guess, fine with it to an extent, apart from when it's just complete (rubbish), that people try and come up with, and completely fake stories that people make up.
"I think, to a certain point, harsh criticism is acceptable. It makes sense - you don't like it when it's too much and people in the team start to get affected by it.
"Especially because maybe for some of them, they don't understand so much… or don't know so many of the truths, but I think we do a good job within the team, within McLaren explaining things to people, telling them what's going on, explaining my side of the story and things that go on with me, things that go on within teams."
Friday
10.50pm: F2 Practice
1pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice One (session starts 1.30pm)
2:55pm: F2 Qualifying
4:45pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice Two (session starts 5pm)
6:15pm: The F1 Show: Saudi Arabia
Saturday
1.15pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice Three (session starts 1:30pm)
3:05pm: F2 Sprint Race
4pm: Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying build-up
5pm: SAUDI ARABIAN GP QUALIFYING
Sunday
1:35pm: F2 Feature Race
3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Saudi Arabian GP build-up
5pm: THE SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
7pm: Chequered flag: Saudi Arabian GP Reaction
Watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend with Sunday's race live at 5pm. Get Sky Sports
