Lando Norris shares what he did for the ‘first time’ in his F1 career on the grid at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

McLaren driver Lando Norris is learning a lot about himself as he seeks his first Formula 1 world championship.

Last season was the first time that Lando Norris’ name was included when discussing who could win the drivers’ championship.

He won his first Grand Prix in Miami, and went from strength to strength over the following months, sailing past Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc in the standings.

The McLaren star couldn’t ever get close enough to Max Verstappen to put the four-time world champion under any serious threat, but he did put him under enough pressure for a few cracks to start showing.

Verstappen was criticised for his tactics against Norris in Mexico City, while Red Bull were becoming increasingly frustrated that their car was no longer the gold standard in the paddock.

This season has seen a shift in the momentum on the grid, and suddenly Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri are being hunted down by the Dutchman, who thrives in the underdog role.

Piastri is showing no signs of slipping up and has taken the lead in the drivers’ championship, but Norris made his first serious error at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

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Lando Norris changes his F1 grid behaviour for the ‘first time’ in his career

Going into qualifying, Norris looked the favourite to take pole position having been the fastest driver in practice.

However, the Brit had to settled for 10th on the grid, after Norris made a critical mistake on his first flying lap in Q3.

Norris was asked on the F1 Nation Podcast what mindset was on the grid in Saudi Arabia after starting on the fifth row of the grid and responded: “I don’t know, I was quite relaxed.

“I put my headphones in for the first time ever. I’ve never wore headphones in on the grid.”

When asked what music he was listening to, he joked, “I cannot tell you that! I’d rather not tell you.

“It’s a song that me and my friends… I think a lot of people would know it.

“But it’s just, it’s a song I like to listen to, but I’m not going to give you any clues, I shouldn’t say.”

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Lando Norris gives sneak peak of how McLaren’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix strategy was decided

Norris stayed late on Saturday to discuss what happened in qualifying with the team, and when asked by Tom Kristensen if that’s when he decided to start on the hard tyre, he said: “No, it was not decided until we were on the grid today.

“Because we knew the risk-reward level for starting on the hard tyre was high.

“Like it’s risky, but more rewarding if it goes [well] and today it went well.

“But you know, if there’s a red flag on lap one, I’m screwed because everyone on the medium will box for the hard tyre, will have the free change to the hard tyre, and then they can go to the end.

“And then there was the safety car, so I was praying for it not to go red.”

Norris did brilliantly to climb to fourth during the race, benefiting from the strategy call McLaren made.

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda’s crash could have been a disaster for Norris, but avoiding the red flag potentially kept Norris ahead of Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.

The attention now turns to Piastri and how he’ll cope with the pressure of leading the championship just five races into his third season in Formula 1.