Championship leader Lando Norris admitted he felt “clueless” after a puzzling sixth-place qualifying result for the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri stunning the field with a pole position lap.
Norris, who sits one point ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the world championship standings, was left scratching his head after finishing 0.426 seconds adrift of Piastri. “It’s like I’ve never driven a Formula 1 car before,” Norris told reporters.
“No big complaints. The car’s amazing. The car’s as good as it has been all season, which is strong. Just I’ve been off it all weekend. I don’t know why. Just clueless on track at the minute.”
The 25-year-old Briton currently leads the drivers’ championship with Verstappen in second and Piastri just 13 points behind. However, a tricky qualifying session saw Norris outpaced by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Mercedes’ George Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.
“I Just Can’t Flow With the Car”
Norris spoke candidly about his inability to adapt to changing track conditions, particularly Bahrain’s notoriously fickle wind.
“I just don’t know how to approach it. Every time I try something, it’s good for one session and then the wrong thing for the next. I can’t flow with the car, and when I can’t flow, I’m just not very quick.”
Despite his qualifying struggles, Norris was quick to praise the McLaren package, highlighting the team’s performance this season.
“I’ve just got to work on myself. I can’t fault the team, and the car is the best by a long way. But clearly I’m just not clicking at the minute.”
Team Backs Norris Amid Q3 Struggles
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella offered support, explaining that Norris is currently dealing with a known issue that affects him particularly during Q3 when margins are tightest.
“Lando is a very fast driver with incredible race-craft. It’s just a phase where things haven’t quite clicked in qualifying recently. When you go for that extra 0.1s in Q3, those small mismatches with the car become more visible.”
Stella stressed that the issue doesn’t impact race performance, and that Norris showed strong pace during race simulation runs in practice.
“This doesn’t affect the race pace. Lando has already shown strong laps in the long runs. We understand what’s going on and are optimistic it will be resolved with some adaptation.”
Can Norris Bounce Back in Bahrain?
While Norris may have been off the pace in qualifying, his race pace could yet see him contend for the podium—or even victory—depending on strategy and tire management. With McLaren looking stronger than ever, Bahrain may still deliver a standout performance from the Briton as he looks to defend his narrow championship lead.
TL;DR:
🔹 Lando Norris qualifies P6 in Bahrain, feeling “clueless” despite McLaren’s strong form
🔹 Teammate Oscar Piastri takes pole, 0.426s quicker
🔹 Norris blames inconsistency with car handling and changing conditions
🔹 Team principal Andrea Stella backs him, calling it a “temporary phase”
🔹 Strong race pace gives hope for a comeback on Sunday
