Lando Norris accused of “second-guessing himself” as F1 title battle intensifies
Lando Norris has been accused of “second-guessing himself” as the F1 title battle with Oscar Piastri hots up
Ex-F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has accused Lando Norris of “second-guessing himself” following a scrappy Bahrain Grand Prix.
Bahrain was difficult for Norris as McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri won the race.
Norris could only qualify sixth on the grid in Bahrain after making a mistake at Turn 1 on his final lap in Q3.
He was then hit with a five-second time penalty for misjudging his position on the starting grid.
This effectively cost him second place to George Russell after Norris struggled to overtake Charles Leclerc late on.
Norris’ race craft was also disappointing, spending over a dozen laps stuck behind Leclerc, who struggled on the hard tyres.
Assessing Norris’ performance in Bahrain, Palmer was puzzled by the number of errors the McLaren driver made.
“When it’s hooked up, he’s still got the pace,” Palmer said on the official F1 website.
“But he has to find a way to balance his natural attacking style with a car that is more on a knife-edge.
“If he qualifies at the front, then we know he can soak up the pressure as he’s done for his past two wins – in Abu Dhabi last year with the teams’ championship on the line and in Melbourne this year.
“From further back in Bahrain, though, it seemed like he was second-guessing himself a lot and it culminated in a messy evening for him and a potential three points lost as he failed to recover to make it a McLaren 1-2. Even the way Lando lined up on the grid was strange.
“Lando initially lined up acceptably but twice released the clutch to trickle forward. The first movement forward probably put him in the perfect place to start the race. But as he sought to shuffle up even more, he must have lost his reference and simply overshot his marks.”
Despite a scrappy race, Norris remains at the top of the F1 drivers’ standings after four rounds.
Norris is three points ahead of Piastri going into Saudi Arabia.
However, Piastri beat Norris in the previous two races in Jeddah.
Norris will have to up his game this weekend to retain the championship lead.
One issue he’s continued to face throughout 2025 is how tricky the MCL39 is to drive compared to its predecessor.
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