JEDDAH :Lando Norris said there was nothing more he could do after finishing fourth in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and losing his Formula One championship lead to winning McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
The Briton started the evening three points clear of the Australian and ended it 10 points behind, in second place overall.
Norris paid the price for a crash in qualifying that left him 10th on the starting grid and although helped by two of the cars ahead of him crashing out on lap one, he finished off the podium for the first time this season.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third.
“Nothing more I could do. The Ferrari was quick, Max was quick as well and clearly we did not have as much of an advantage,” Norris told reporters.
“If anything you would say Max was the quickest car out there today, which means we have some work to do. Clearly that was not an easy race.
“We are probably the most consistent team but we are not quicker than the rest. Because of my mistakes like yesterday, I paid the price and I made my life very tough.”
McLaren have won four of five races this season, but Piastri has finished first on three of those occasions. Verstappen won in Japan.
Jeddah’s Corniche track is a super-fast layout, blasting along the shoreline, and Norris said he was happy enough with a mistake-free race.
The loss of the championship lead was no surprise given the Saturday circumstances.
“My Sundays I have been pretty happy with, they have been strong. My Sunday pace has been good. I have confidence. The pace is there. I made my life too tough on Saturday,” he explained.
“I am making myself fight for it, it makes my Sundays more difficult at times. I miss out on the trophies and the apple juice. So I have to work on my Saturdays and if I work on my Saturdays I am pretty confident I can get back to where I was.”
