Lando Norris - Why F1's new rules were "good news" and "bad news" at Jeddah

Norris and Ocon battle in Jeddah — Photo: © LAT Images

Lando Norris

Norris - Why F1's new rules were "good news" and "bad news" at Jeddah

Norris lost out on P6 to Ocon in Jeddah

Ian Parkes & Topher Smith

Wednesday 30 March 2022 10:30

Lando Norris has explained how he found the "good news" and "bad news" of F1's new regulations at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Norris engaged in a fight for sixth with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon in the closing stages in Jeddah, ultimately losing out and collecting his and McLaren's first points of the season by finishing seventh.

The new generation of cars introduced into the sport has allowed for better racing action in the first two races of the season with the changes highlighted by two battles for the lead between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

“We could follow much closer [at Jeddah] than last year which is good news," said Norris.

"It’s also bad news because like with Esteban I got ahead but it’s much easier for them to keep up and have a go at you the next lap.

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“That’s why you see more backwards and forwards which I think you saw with Max and Charles as well.

“It is fun and it definitely makes for excitement and a race to look forward to a lot more.”

Norris encountered tyre struggles before safety car gamble

Norris qualified outside the top 10 for the second time in two races and after starting on mediums, the Briton initially struggled before using the safety car period after Nicholas Latifi's crash to bring himself back into points contention.

Assessing his race, Norris conceded: “I don’t think we were too good in the first stint, honestly.

"We struggled a little bit with the tyres compared to others but we boxed under the safety car and that helped us gain a couple of positions which I guess was part of the plan.

“The pace on the hard at the end was strong. We gapped [Pierre] Gasly, I got past Daniel [Ricciardo] and caught Esteban towards the end but he had much better straight-line speed than us.

“My chance to overtake into turn one, I just got alongside and the next lap he was completely ahead of me by the time I braked, so not a lot I could do."