Lando Norris told what “the problem” is, as reverse-psychology is spotted

Lando Norris is trying to “release pressure” from himself by downplaying his McLaren’s speed.

Norris recovered from a crash in qualifying, which left him 10th on the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix starting grid, to finish P4 last weekend.

He then complained at people ‘coming out with all this c**p’ about the pace advantage of his McLaren.

But Sky Sports analyst Jamie Chadwick has spotted some reverse-psychology at play.

“He’s doing it to release pressure from himself,” she said.

“When everyone is saying ‘you have got the fastest car, you should be winning every race’ it’s probably not the best feeling as a driver.

“If I was him, I’d harness that, and think: ‘Maybe I do have the fastest car, maybe it does mean I should out-perform expectation every weekend’.

“From my point of view, I think it’s closer.

“I think if Oscar Piastri started from pole, and led from the first lap, it would have been an easier race for him.

“But the way that Lando downplays the car is him just not letting on that, actually, they should be dominating more.”

Ferrari praised for denying Lando Norris

Chadwick added about Norris: “His pace [last] weekend was good. He was good in practice.

“If he didn’t make the mistake in qualifying, “I’m sure he would have pushed Oscar or Max hard for pole.

“I don’t think the pace is the problem. It’s the execution, and getting everything right throughout a whole weekend.”

Norris chased down Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc but could not claim a podium finish from him.

Teammate Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, ahead of Red Bull’s Verstappen who was hit with a time penalty.

Piastri now leads Norris by 10 points at the top of the drivers’ championship.

But Norris, who will want to forget about Saudi Arabia swiftly, was only denied a podium by Ferrari’s smart thinking, it was claimed.

Ex-F1 race strategist Bernie Collins said about Norris: “He did better in the race than I expected, he was closing in on Charles.

“Ferrari did a good strategy with Leclerc. “They saw the risk was Norris so they extended Leclerc’s first stint beyond anyone else on the medium.

“The hard tyres were in a much better condition and gave Leclerc the best chance of holding Norris off.

“In the next few laps, I don’t think Norris could have got him because the gap between them, in lap time, didn’t seem significant enough.”