Lando Norris jokes about where should have copied Charles Leclerc in Bahrain

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren driver Lando Norris has joked that he should have followed the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in running wide at turn 10 during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Leclerc struggled with brake issues during the season-opening race, causing him to lock up and leave the track at the downhill left-hander.

But Norris has quipped that McLaren should have tried a similar tactic to close the gap between themselves and Ferrari.

Leclerc finished fourth on the road behind teammate Carlos Sainz, while Norris was sixth, just under nine seconds back at the flag.

Lando Norris jokes about emulating Charles Leclerc in Bahrain

Speaking to Norris after the race, Channel 4 pundit David Coulthard said that he was hitting the apex at turn 10 ‘beautifully’, while the likes of Leclerc and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton had moments.

The Briton found little solace in the MCL38’s consistency, noting that Leclerc was comfortably clear even with a ‘more erratic’ approach.

And he reiterated that McLaren found themselves losing ground to their competitors in the final corner just before the DRS straight.

“Charles finished a long way ahead of me, maybe I should have tried that!

“It was just tricky and sometimes the nice and steady just doesn’t work, sometimes it’s better to be a bit more erratic and quicker.

“It’s just a consistency thing and like the last corner is where I felt I was losing the most.

“I felt like I was catching in many areas, the last corner was just a shocking one for us today.”

Norris left wanting more after Bahrain

McLaren left Bahrain no doubt feeling much more confident in their prospects than they were 12 months ago, when Oscar Piastri failed to finish and Norris was two laps down in a miserable race.

With Norris sixth and Piastri eighth, they secured a solid haul of 12 points to begin the new campaign.

However, the former was left ruing two mistakes during qualifying that he believes cost him around three tenths of a second.

Without those, he could feasibly have challenged Leclerc for second on the grid, and fought for podium during Saturday’s race.