Lando Norris says his McLaren was worse than a road car in one area in Bahrain

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McLaren driver Lando Norris says his car felt ‘shocking’ around the final corner during Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Norris scored eight points in the season-opening race after finishing sixth ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing as the British driver revealed some serious balance issues heading into the start/finish straight.

Norris qualified seventh in Sakhir but was able to pass Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso in the early stages.

He mounted a late charge to reel in the Mercedes of George Russell but wasn’t able to get within DRS range before the chequered flag.

Lando Norris says McLaren felt worse than Reliant Robin one area

Speaking to F1TV directly after the race, Norris said he struggled to wrestle his car around turns 14 and 15 throughout the race.

The British driver even joked that a three-wheel Reliant Robin would have negotiated the sequence faster.

“The last corner was shocking,” he said. “I honestly could have drove any road car in the world – even a Reliant Robin – round the last corner quicker than our car today. 100%. I felt like I was on one [wheel].”

Norris begins vital year with strong result in Bahrain

While McLaren weren’t able to fight for a podium finish to begin 2024, their 12-point haul represents a vast improvement from the same event last year, when Piastri failed to finish the race and Norris ended up two laps down.

In 2023, it wasn’t until the British Grand Prix in July that both McLaren cars placed inside the top seven.

Norris demonstrated his faith in the Woking team by signing a new multi-year contract in the winter, but that was before Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 switch to Ferrari was announced.

As such, he may privately want to put himself in the shop window, with Sky Sports F1 pundit Damon Hill suggesting he’s in contention for the Mercedes seat.