Lando Norris “on the right track” after confidence-boosting Friday in Saudi Arabia

Lando Norris has revealed he’s “gaining confidence” following an encouraging Friday at the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Norris topped second practice at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

The F1 world championship leader was just over a tenth clear of Piastri in FP2.

It’s a strong start to the weekend from Norris following a tricky Bahrain weekend for the British driver.

Norris could only qualify sixth in Bahrain before an error-strewn race.

Norris received a five-second penalty for misjudging his position on the starting grid and made several mistakes when fighting Charles Leclerc for third.

While Norris was able to get ahead of Leclerc for the final spot on the podium, he was disappointed that he would not be able to overtake George Russell on the final lap.

Norris’ scruffy weekend resulted in a raft of self-criticism, and he continues to be outspoken about how much he’s struggling with the MCL39.

So far in Saudi Arabia, Norris feels he’s on the “right track” after an encouraging Friday.

“A pretty decent first day. Always feels chaotic around here because it’s so fast,” Norris said.

“A lot of walls. A lot of near-misses. Today has been a day of working on my driving, working on myself more than working on the car. I’ve been getting more confident.

“I think a good start to the weekend. Productive. Gaining confidence, gaining feeling. From what I wanted to achieve today I think [I’m] on the right track.”

Lando Norris: McLaren ‘hoped for a bigger gap’

In terms of McLaren’s nearest challengers, Max Verstappen was third-fastest for Red Bull.

The reigning world champion was just over 0.2s off the pace.

Leclerc was the lead Ferrari in fourth, having led the way after the initial runs on the medium tyres.

Assessing McLaren’s chances for qualifying, Norris added: “I mean at the minute I would say we feel confident but the others are not far behind. I was probably hoping for a bigger gap than what we had today.

“We know we’re fast. We know we have a great car. Certainly not comfortable, not as comfortable as we’d like.

“Nothing more than that. Keep our heads down and keep focusing on ourselves and see what we can do.”