Lando Norris lays bare McLaren issues ahead of Saudi Arabian GP

McLaren driver Lando Norris has said that downforce is the main issue that needs solving with their car at the moment, after they struggled for performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix hosts round two of the Formula 1 world championship this weekend and it’s an opportunity for teams to try and see what they have learned about their cars so far, after the curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend.

Indeed, it’s also a first chance for teams to bring tweaks and potential upgrades to their cars in-season, though we might not see loads given the close proximity of the first two races of the year in the calendar.

McLaren, of course, would be hoping to bring as many upgrades as possible after a difficult start to their year in Bahrain but it sounds as though it’s going to take longer than a week and more than a few changes for them to get where they want to be.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson in the drivers’ press conference earlier on on Friday, Lando revealed that a lack of downforce is the issue they’ve got at the moment and, in F1 speak, that is a big job:

“Downforce and overall grip [need fixing.]

“If the balance is in a decent place but you’re slow it’s quite a simple fix.

“There are not loads of problems but just one which is very costly and that’s downforce.

“There’s a good team working on a plan to put things together.”

It’s one job, then, but it’s a pretty sizeable one, make no mistake.

A lack of downforce means not enough grip and that, in the corners in particular, makes for a pretty tough task of driving, despite how good Norris and Daniel Ricciardo are behind the wheel.

Clearly, there’s only so much they’re going to have been able to do in terms of progress between Bahrain