Norris lashes out: 'McLaren is not in crisis!'

Bahrain troubles 'exaggerated'

McLaren had a particularly poor start to the season. Oscar Piastri dropped out early in the race in Bahrain due to electronic problems, and Norris had to make no fewer than six pit stops, leaving him last among the finished cars. The team was able to compete well for fourth place before the winter break, but is now one of three teams to start the second race scoreless.

Norris, however, is convinced that it is all being exaggerated a bit. " Everyone makes it sound a lot worse than it is," said the Briton. "Calling it a crisis? It’s far from that at all, and it’s nothing close to it. We’re confident we can get some good points this weekend. It's a close fight with Alfa Romeo and the other teams. Towards the top four teams, it’s a very big jump. But I’m confident we can be in that fight; I don’t think we’re that far away."

'It's all nonsense'

Due to McLaren's disappointing results, there has been a lot of talk about Norris' future recently. The driver is seen as one of the great talents on the current grid but has yet to put a win to his name. Norris still has a contract with McLaren until 2025, which several commentators see as a waste of Norris' talents. Therefore, there is also much speculation that Norris might be looking for another team.

"I guess I’m at a point where [the rumours don’t] affect me in any way," Norris says of all the speculation. "I guess I'm fine with it to an extent, apart from when it’s just complete BS that people try and come up with. It’s tough, it’s the world we live in, it’s just media. It’s just what you’ve got to deal with sometimes. I’m fine with it, the team are fine with it."