Rand Norris revealed he has “gained confidence” following his encouragement Friday at the F1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Norris led his second practice at the Jeddah Cornish Circuit ahead of McLaren’s teammate Oscar Piastri.
The F1 World Championship Leader avoided a tenth of the Piastry in FP2.
A strong start to the weekend from Norris, following a tricky Bahrain weekend for British drivers.
Norris only qualified for sixth place in Bahrain before the race where the error was hit.
Norris was penalised for misjudging his position on the starting grid and made some mistakes while fighting Charles Leclair.
Norris managed to advance Leclair for the final spot on the podium, but he was disappointed that he couldn’t overtake George Russell on the final lap.
Norris’ sloppy weekend has brought a lot of self-criticism and he continues to speak openly about how hard he struggles with the MCL39.
In Saudi Arabia so far, Norris feels he is on the “right track” after encouragement on Friday.
“It’s a pretty decent first day. It’s so fast, I always feel like I’m confused around here,” Norris said.
“A lot of walls. A lot of walls. I’m working on my driving today and I’ve been working on myself more than working in a car. I’m more confident.
“I think it’s a good start to the weekend. It’s productive. It gains confidence and gains emotion. I think (I) is on the right track because of what I wanted to achieve today.”
Rand Norris: McLaren “wanted a bigger gap”
When it comes to McLaren’s closest challenger, Max Verstappen was the third fastest for Red Bull.
The real world champion was just over 0.2 from the pace.
Leclerc was fourth lead Ferrari and led the way after his first run on medium tires.
Assessing McLaren’s potential for qualifying, Norris added:
“We know it’s fast. We know we have a great car. It’s certainly not comfortable and not as comfortable as we want it to.
“No more. Bow your head, stay focused on yourself and see what we can do.”