Lando Norris says it will not be ‘a simple fix’ as McLaren look to turnaround MCL36 after Bahrain challenges

Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished 15th and 14th at the Bahrain Grand Prix; Norris: “The car is not quick enough, it’s not grippy enough and it’s not got enough downforce”; watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix GP live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend

Lando Norris says it will not be a ‘simple fix’ to improve the performance of McLaren’s MCL36, after an extremely difficult first weekend of the season in Bahrain.

Norris was speaking to Naomi Schiff and Matt Baker on Sky Sports’ new show Any Driven Monday, the day after the season-opening grand prix.

While Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz claimed a brilliant 1-2 for Ferrari, Norris and his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finished in 15th and 14th position.

In the end, only Nicholas Latifi in the Williams and Aston Martin’s Nico Hulkenburg ended the day behind McLaren’s two drivers.

“It’s not a simple fix,” Norris said about the performance of McLaren’s MCL36.

“At times the balance can feel relatively decent, it’s just we end up going slower than the majority. That’s just simply, we don’t have enough downforce [front and rear], just total downforce, total load.

“There are definitely some things that we can try, adapt to and maybe change on the car that we’ve got, to make it work a little bit better but it’s also not solely that simple.

“A lot of it is also the philosophy of the car and understanding really how to make it work properly.

“That’s not easily done week to week and maybe, not able to be changed from week to week. We just need to understand it really.”

It’s just simply the car is not quick enough, it’s not grippy enough and it’s not got enough downforce, that’s the focus we need to work on.

Lando Norris

With the second Grand Prix of the season coming this weekend, the team at McLaren have limited time to come to concrete conclusions and make any possible amendments.

Friday’s first practice will be live on Sky Sports at 2pm, with qualifying taking place the day after at 5pm.

“I’m sure there are going to be a few different ideas to try different things and understand more,” Norris continued. “We’ll be trying all of that on Friday.

“It might not be a test of pure lap time [in practice], but it will be trying to understand the car. We’ll be looking at if there’s something missing or areas that have not been tested yet, because of our lack of track time in Bahrain.”

During testing, McLaren’s progress was hindered by problems with the car’s brakes, as well as Ricciardo not being able to drive due to testing positive for Covid-19.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has already expressed his belief the team will come up with solutions.

“McLaren fans, we are as disappointed as you with our results this weekend, though as a team we are as determined as we have ever been,” Brown posted on social media. “There’s a reason our motto at McLaren is ‘Fearlessly Forward’.

“No matter what is thrown at us, we will continue to do what we do best: push as hard as we can and never give up.”

Follow the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sky Sports

Sky Sports F1 is your home for every race this season, and it continues with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix next weekend.

We will have build-up right through the week before covering all the action live from Friday’s first practice at 2pm with the second practice session following at 5pm.

Saturday’s practice is at 2pm with qualifying at 5pm before Sunday’s race starts at 6pm in the UK. Sky Sports F1 will be on air from 4.30pm to build up to the action.

As always, you can also follow the action online on the Sky Sports App.

The Formula 1 season continues on Friday on Sky Sports F1 with the Saudi Arabian GP. Sunday’s race starts at 6pm. Find out more & subscribe.