F1 Pundit hits out at ’embarrassing’ Lando Norris over Lewis Hamilton clash at Saudi Arabian GP

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers slammed Lando Norris for failing to defeat Lewis Hamilton during a DRS battle at the Saudi Arabian GP.

F1 Pundit hits out at ’embarrassing’ Lando Norris over Lewis Hamilton clash at Saudi Arabian GP

Lando Norris (via GPBlog) and Lewis Hamilton (via Getty images)

Lando Norris was labeled the favorite for the F1 world title at the start of this year. After a failed bid in 2024, everyone expected the British driver to finally grab his maiden title with McLaren having a visible pace advantage. However, things have not gone in Norris’ favor so far. The Saudi Arabian GP was another disappointing weekend for the McLaren star. Now, ex-F1 driver Christijan Albers has slammed the 25-year-old.

During the Jeddah race, Lando Norris was battling Lewis Hamilton for a potential podium finish. The McLaren driver was outmaneuvered by the seven-time world champion with DRS not once, but twice. Norris was trolled online for not being able to understand Hamilton’s tactics as he failed to defeat the Ferrari driver.

Christijan Albers claimed that falling for Lewis Hamilton’s DRS move for a single time for incredibly embarrassing in the first place, let alone a second time. Albers pointed out that this cost Norris crucial time which further ruined his chances of getting a good result in the race. Lando Norris was unable to charge at Charles Leclerc for third place, and thus lost the chance to finish on the podium. Meanwhile, his teammate Oscar Piastri won the Grand Prix and took the lead in the standings.

The first time should already be embarrassing enough, but to have it happen again a second time… It just cost a lot of time. This also caused him to lose connection with Leclerc, and that basically cost him a podium place.

Christijan Albers said, as reported by GPBlog

Lando Norris and McLaren failing to assert F1 dominance

McLaren won the 2024 constructors’ title last year. Heading into the current season, the British team delivered on expectations and kicked off its campaign with the fastest car on the grid. It is no surprise that Woking has won four out of the first five rounds of the season. Albeit Piastri has won in three of these occasions.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Motorsportweek)
McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Motorsportweek)

Christijan Albers reckoned that despite having the quickest car on the grid, McLaren failed to showcase its dominance so far this year. The 46-year-old asserted that the team must work on organizing everything correctly. Additionally, the former F1 driver pointed out that the strategy department could not make any errors for the rest of the year.

McLaren fails to assert their dominance. Just make sure everything is organized well from A to Z. Make sure your strategy people are on it, ensure your engineers are on top of it.

Christijan Albers added

The main thing Albers highlighted was that the drivers must be at the top of their game. Oscar Piastri has shown that he is ready to take things to the next level and fight for the title. However, Lando Norris seems to be fading compared to his teammate. Norris cannot continue to make such mistakes if he wants to be the one leading the charge for the world championship.

Most importantly, make sure your drivers are on top of it. And here we’ve just seen several examples where it takes too long.

Christijan Albers declared

Certainly, Lando Norris needs to go back to the drawing board before the next round of the season in Miami. The British driver cannot make such errors if he wants to stay in contention for the championship. If Norris does not improve, he could potentially be forced to follow team orders to facilitate Oscar Piastri’s title campaign, something he would desperately want to avoid. As such, it remains to be seen if the Saudi Arabian GP serves as a wake up call for the British driver.