Lando Norris opened up after the race in Saudi Arabia about the challenges he now faces if he wants to win the championship—publicly admitting that he’s making things more difficult for himself than they need to be.

At the start of the season, many people saw Norris as a title favourite, especially after his impressive win at the season opener in Melbourne. But since then, the momentum has shifted. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, has stepped up, winning back-to-back races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. After the first five rounds, Piastri now leads the championship, while Norris sits 10 points behind.

Norris had a tough weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. A crash in qualifying left him starting from P10. And although he made an incredible comeback to finish fourth, he missed out on a potential podium.

“Honestly, that was the best we could do today,” Norris said after the race in an interview with Sky Sports F1. “But it’s frustrating. I made it hard for myself. If I hadn’t messed up in qualifying, it could’ve been a much easier race. I’ve just got to do better on Saturdays. That’s where I’m letting myself down.”

Norris also denied suggestions that McLaren has a dominant car compared to their rivals—especially Red Bull. Some fans have even claimed McLaren is in a league of their own with their recent pace, but Norris disagrees.

“Red Bull are just as quick—both in qualifying and in the race,” he told Motorsport.com. “People see us top the timesheets in practice and start saying we’re the best, we’re way ahead... but that’s not how it really is. That’s just how we run things.”

Norris further explained that McLaren’s approach is to show strong pace early in the weekend, while other teams like Red Bull tend to hold back and only reveal their full potential during qualifying or the race.

“We don't have much more to give when qualifying comes around,” he said in a Formula1.com interview. “It’s just how we optimise the car. If we didn’t run it that way, we’d probably be even further back.”

Despite the criticism and the pressure, Norris remains confident in himself and in the team.

“I’m proud of the work we’re doing,” he added. “We’ve got a great car, and I still believe I’m one of the fastest drivers out there. But clearly, it’s not enough if I’m making mistakes. I need to clean things up.”

As the season progresses, Norris knows that consistency will be key if he wants to stay in the championship battle—and prevent his teammate from pulling away.