Norris ‘on the right track’ in Saudi practice

Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia

Jeddah Dates: 18-20 April Start time for the race: 18:00 BST on Sunday

Lando Norris says he is “on the right track” for the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia after setting the pace in Friday practice.

The Briton led teammate Oscar Piastri by 0.16 seconds on a day that was hampered by a Yuki Tsunoda crash.

At the end of the second session, the Japanese, who had previously raced in two races this season, clipped the inside wall and was thrown into the wall on the outside.

McLaren once more appeared to have an edge over the competition: Max Verstappen from Red Bull finished the day third fastest, at least on one-lap pace, 0.280secs ahead of Norris’ best.

He claimed he had been working hard to improve his confidence while driving on the fast-paced Jeddah street track.

A respectable first day, Norris declared. Because of how fast it moves, how many walls, and how many near-misses it causes, everything feels chaotic around here.

“Today, I’ve been working more on myself and my driving than probably on the car.” gaining more self-assurance.

“A good place to start, productive, and empowering. On the right path, from what I wanted to learn today.

We are confident, in my opinion, but the rest are not far behind. I had hoped for a bigger gap than it did today, probably. We are quick, after all. We are confident in our vehicle. Not as cozy as we would like.

Piastri once said, “I’ve been feeling pretty good and the car is moving.” I’ve made a few cuts, which I need to make better use of tomorrow.

Verstappen finished third overall, but the Dutchman was behind Ferrari and Mercedes in terms of race pace both during the first and second sessions.

The four-time champion said, “We tried some different things, trying to find maybe a different direction, and we came away with a lot.”

Still, not where I wanted to be. You have to move away from what you feel in the car, I don’t really look at the gaps. Although it is slightly better over a lap, our long runs were still very challenging.

Leclerc finished the day 0.48 seconds slower than Norris, but he did not finish the day with a clean lap on the day’s quickest soft tires.

The championship leaders’ advantage appeared bigger than ever at any race this season, despite the fact that he and Russell appeared the closest thing to a McLarens’ challenge on a race run.

A challenging day, Leclerc declared. It’s a very difficult track, and at best, one’s confidence must be very high.

We changed a lot about the car, but it turned out to be very positive because I learned a lot. I believe that once we adjust the window, the vehicle will experience a little more performance.

Lewis Hamilton, a teammate, however, acknowledged his difficulties. The seven-time champion was 13th place, 0. 622 seconds slower than Leclerc, and eighth fastest, 5 places, and 0. 506 seconds behind in the first session.

Hamilton called him “not the greatest.” Our main concern was getting the tires to work today.

“Sunday usually goes backwards, but there isn’t much going backwards for me to leave.”

“The car needs to be improved. A few times throughout the session, the soft tyre didn’t appear until the soft tyre is reached. Tonight, we’ll make some adjustments, and we’ll probably come back stronger tomorrow.

The late in the second session race simulation runs were halted by Tsunoda’s crash.

The left-front track-rod was damaged when he first struck the wall, which caused the car to crash into the outside wall, where the front right also suffered damage.