Lando Norris has given a strong critique of his start in Formula 1, suggesting Bahrain was his only “very good” race.
The young Briton has stepped up well at McLaren from F2, achieving Q3 appearances in the first two races and largely outperforming his more experienced teammate Carlos Sainz.
But when asked to rate his first three races, it was the results which Norris was more critical of.
“If I had to rate it, I’d rate it at six out of 10,” he told Autosport. “A 10 is perfect. 10 is going in and not making any mistakes, nailing everything, which is never going to happen.
“Obviously, China not going to plan from qualifying and the race.
“Bahrain as a whole I’d rate very good. Then in Australia, there was the potential to get points if I was more experienced or did a better job than what I did.
“Maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. There were just a couple of points here and there where it was possible to do a better job overall.”
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In Bahrain, the 19-year-old scored McLaren’s best finish since Australia 2018 with P6, capitalising on the late problems for Renault.
Those eight points sit as the only points currently on the board for the British team but Norris played down the significance of achieving it.
“It’s not like I had to do it or something, but if there’s an opportunity where it is possible then I’ve got to make the most of it,” he explained.
“It’s good that I’ve done well, I guess for the people on the outside, but also for my own confidence in knowing I can do a good enough job, which was mainly from the job I did in Bahrain.
“It’s important but it wasn’t the end of the world if it didn’t happen.”