Lando Norris rues "messy" Bahrain F1 race

Lando Norris believed his recovery to third in the Bahrain Grand Prix had a few positives, but rued a “messy race” in which he was narrowly beaten to second on-track by George Russell.

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Norris found his way up to third at the start of the grand prix, although he copped a five-second penalty for rolling too far over his grid box at the start – he was in the right position, but couldn’t judge how far forward he was and pulled forward slightly.

Having been close to Russell before his first stop, the McLaren driver’s undercut had helped consume some of the penalty, but he had a smidgen of ground to make up to close Russell down.

On the restart following a lap-32 safety car brought out for debris, Norris then got jumped by both Ferraris; although he passed Lewis Hamilton to reclaim fourth, he had to give the place back as McLaren was worried he’d gone off-track at Turn 4.

He repassed his countryman but subsequently spent a long time battling with Charles Leclerc. A handful of botched attempts to overtake – one which Norris labelled himself a “muppet” for – played out, before he finally made the move stick at Turn 4 on lap 52.

“I didn’t think I was that far forward [in the grid box] I guess, nothing more than that,” Norris reflected after the race.

“A tough race; I made too many mistakes with the overtakes, being out of position, it was a messy race for me and I’m disappointed not to bring home a 1-2 for McLaren cause that would have been lovely at home. A tough one, but still a few positives.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images

“I mean, it was good racing throughout, so no complaints, just good fun – some good overtakes, but everyone hard and on the limit as it should be.”

When Norris cleared Leclerc, Russell’s various electrical issues and soft-tyre degradation brought the Mercedes driver into Norris’ reach – but he was unable to make a pass despite a few attempts.

Norris congratulated Russell’s efforts, and vowed to “step it up” in Saudi Arabia after a difficult Bahrain weekend. Russell is currently under investigation by the stewards, following the continuation of his car troubles – Russell reported he’d pressed the radio button and instead was met by DRS.

“George did a good job and I thought I’d be able to get him,” Norris said. “But I guess he was probably just saving a little bit before the end. And he did well.

“Oscar also did a good job, so congrats to Oscar and the whole McLaren team. I’ll try to step it up for next weekend.”