Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Oscar makes contact with GAS on the opening lap. He pits for a new nose box and switches to the Hard tyre. Lando’s car was damaged from hitting debris on the track on the opening lap. He also pits for a new nose box and switches to the Hard tyre. With the Safety Car out, Lando boxes and swaps to a new Medium tyre. Lando, on the grippier tyre, swaps positions with Oscar into P17. With two laps to go, Oscar and Lando switch places again. Oscar overtakes SAR on the final lap for P15.
Lando Norris
Tough race; we were very unlucky today. I had a really good start but got hit with debris, damaging my front wing. We did our best to come out with something, but no luck was on our side. We did the best job we could, working as a team, but it was difficult to achieve anything more than what we did. So, it’s tough, but now our focus is on Australia, where we hope to do a better job.
Oscar Piastri
Obviously, it’s not the day we were looking for. There was contact at the beginning where I lost part of my front wing. I’m not sure if there was anything I could have done. Really, I was squeezed a little bit. There was some good racing at the end, which was nice, and obviously, I did a long stint on the Hards, so it’s good to get a bit of learning for the tyres, but overall, it’s not what we were looking for tonight.
Andrea Stella
After beginning the race with hopes of scoring points, we had both cars at the back of the pack after the first lap, and we came away from Jeddah empty-handed. Oscar had contact at the first corner, which required him to pit with a broken front wing, while Lando hit the debris coming off Oscar’s car and also suffered a broken front wing that required him to pit to change the front wing.
We’re racers, and we take these unfortunate circumstances on the chin and will be even more motivated and determined to improve the car and prepare for the next race in Australia. Melbourne is Oscar’s home Grand Prix, and we look forward to a cleaner race.
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