Lando Norris is prepared to use this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to experiment in a bid to feel comfortable with his car again.
The McLaren driver leads the championship by three points from team-mate Oscar Piastri after four races and has been on the podium at every weekend so far.
Yet he has continued to express frustration with his inability to get the maximum out of himself and his machinery.
He branded himself “clueless” over how to master it after qualifying sixth in Bahrain last weekend, before saying after finishing third in the race that he knows he has “what it takes” to conquer his issues.
It was a similar topic in Jeddah on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where Norris plans to try some new things in the hope that it all starts to click.
“It is a weekend where I want to perform, I want to do well,” Norris said. “But it is early enough in the season where, if I can work on some things and improve in some areas, that will pay off in the longer run.
“We have come into the weekend with a different approach, with a different mindset, different things to try.
“I needed a couple of days off, a reset. Probably would have liked a few more days but I made the most of my three days relaxing, getting away from it a little bit.”
Norris recovered well at the Sakhir circuit last Sunday, with a late move on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sealing his spot on the podium as Piastri became the first driver this season to win multiple races.
The Australian is emerging as a potential title favourite but Norris is not focused on beating his team-mate and wants to instead remind himself of the strong position he is in.
“I just want to outpace the field, I don’t really care who,” Norris said.
“I think of the negative things more than the positive things. I have to get reminded of them rather than being able to remind myself. I have tried to force myself to think of what a success the season has been.
“I know it could have been better but still leading the championship after not being happy, not feeling comfortable is still a start to the year I would have dreamed of before the season started.”
Whereas Norris admits he can sometimes be too open with his emotions, Piastri generally displays a calm demeanour which he believes helps his driving.
“For me, trying to stay calm is a very important thing and I think helps me get the best out of myself,” Piastri said.
“I think it comes somewhat naturally being calm and trying to stay relaxed but there is a lot of conscious effort on that as well.
“There are positive emotions that are there as well. If you had a camera on my face after China (victory), I was pretty damn excited.”
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