McLaren’s aspirations were not fully realized in the second Formula 1 race of the season, yet British driver Lando Norris found solace in his team’s proactive stance in Jeddah.
Norris acknowledged that McLaren’s strategy during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix fell short of ideal, though he commended the team’s boldness. Despite finishing eighth, the British F1 racer opted against pitting when Lance Stroll’s crash prompted a safety car intervention.
This decision was shared by only a handful of drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, and Zhou Guanyu, who all speculated that maintaining track position could prove advantageous in the event of another safety car deployment.
However, the anticipated benefits did not materialize. Despite leading after the restart, Norris ultimately slipped down the ranks, concluding the race below his qualifying position of sixth.
Moreover, the 24-year-old found himself compelled to pit earlier than scheduled to fend off mounting pressure from Hamilton, who had switched to softer tires in the race’s closing phase.
Reflecting on McLaren’s customary cautious approach to strategy, Norris expressed relief at the team’s willingness to adopt a more aggressive stance in pursuit of higher point yields. Only in hindsight did he contemplate potential alterations to the team’s decision-making process.
“You never know at the time, and we wanted to try something different, and not just stay behind,” Norris said.
“We could have gained a lot of points, or we could have lost a few. And in the end, we lost a few. But that’s just the way it is sometimes. So it was a good try, and I think it was the correct call to make.
“Sometimes I feel like we’re a little bit safe. And it’s nice to be a little bit more aggressive and try something different. So I’m happy with our decision.
“It wasn’t the best one, or let’s say the correct one. But that’s in hindsight. So I’m still happy with how we tried to execute it all.”
Norris conceded that Hamilton’s tire strategy compelled him to make a late pit stop for soft tires in the closing laps of the race. Nevertheless, he contemplates that the optimal decision might have been to remain on his aging medium tires in Jeddah.
“I had to, if I went on the hards, he would have got me,” Norris stated. “The hards just take a couple more laps to come in. And he was very close to getting me anyway. So I think I would have chosen to go onto the softs.
“I could have gone to the chequered flag on the medium, I was very happy with that. Obviously, the pace was not great compared to the guys around. But I probably still would have finished higher than where I did if I didn’t box.
“But I had to, and the softs were I think the correct thing, but five laps later. I don’t think we did the best strategy. But I had to cover Lewis, so that kind of had us over a little bit. But I think we gave it the best effort we could.”
