F1 2025: Lando Norris admits frustration over ‘forced’ McLaren change

McLaren

Lando Norris admits frustration over ‘forced’ McLaren change

Lando Norris is currently top of the championship standings

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 19 April 2025 11:59

World championship leader Lando Norris has suggested that he is having to drive his 2025 McLaren car differently to how he has in previous seasons.

Norris claimed victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but has since struggled to keep up with his team-mate Oscar Piastri, who has claimed two victories in the opening four races of the season.

Piastri trails Norris by just three points heading in to this weekend's Saudi Arabian GP, while Norris' 2024 championship rival Max Verstappen is eight points behind the Brit.

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Now, Norris has admitted to not necessarily feeling comfortable in the way he is having to drive his MCL39 car, despite the team clearly having a pace advantage over the rest of the field.

"I'm being forced in a way, not being forced by anyone, but in order to perform better I'm being forced to drive in a different way," Norris told media ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. "In a different manner that I'm not used to and that is not normal for me at all."

Norris' tough few races

While Norris is still the championship leader, it's hard to criticise his performances on race weekends, but his sixth-place qualifying position at last weekend's Bahrain GP was less than ideal.

It meant that he was not able to mount a serious challenge for the grand prix win, and team-mate Piastri cruised to victory as he also managed to do in China, although Norris recovered well to get himself onto the podium.

With McLaren clearly having the dominant car in the early season forays, it's looking more and more likely that we could see a drivers' championship battle between Piastri and Norris, making it crucial for Norris to follow Piastri in picking up a second win of the season sooner rather than later.

Norris also struggled at the Japanese GP to get close to Red Bull's Verstappen in both qualifying and the race, and McLaren faced some criticism for not swapping their drivers at a time when Piastri looked to have the pace over his team-mate.

F1 RESULTS TODAY: Lewis Hamilton in despair as crash triggers chaos at Saudi Grand Prix

Max Verstappen McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Australian Grand Prix Saudi Arabian GP