Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo didn’t have the start to the 2022 F1 season that they might have hoped for. The McLaren team failed to bag a single point in the season opener at Bahrain while their rivals Ferrari dominated with a 1-2. Now, the English constructor is moving forward to the Saudi Arabian GP.

The race week in Bahrain wasn’t a decent one for both the drivers. The McLaren duo continued struggling with the 2022 challenger MCL36 throughout the first race. As a result, they couldn’t even have a Top 10 finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Norris and Ricciardo give hope to the fans

After the crushing defeat in Bahrain, Lando and Ricciardo were working hard to improve their performance for the Saudi Arabian GP. The young Brit and the Australian are now in Saudi for the second race of the season. The McLaren duo appeared for the press conference ahead of the Friday practice session. There, Norris and Ricciardo showed a glimpse of hope for the fans but they also asked not to get too optimistic cause the road to success might be not close enough yet.

Norris stated to Formule1.nl, “This weekend may already be a bit better, although I don’t want to get too optimistic about things.”

Read More: From Expecting P4 to Finishing P15: How McLaren’s Grand 2022 F1 Plans Collapsed in a Span of Weeks

Meanwhile, the Honey Badger reported during his interview, “It has to be there, right. At least that’s what we’re trying to work towards. It won’t be overnight. Maybe this track suits us better already, but we need to make some big changes to back in the top five.”

Can McLaren make a comeback in Jeddah?

McLaren has been fighting for the third-place finish for the past few seasons. Doing the same last year, they finished fourth behind Ferrari. However, they were confident to do better this season. But their hopes certainly didn’t meet the expectations in the season-opener. First, Daniel Ricciardo missed the Bahrain test after being tested positive for COVID-19. But the Honey Badger joined his team in time for the first race after recovering.

But even his returning to the team didn’t help the Woking base much. The McLaren duo couldn’t even pass the Bahrain Q2 as Lando secured a P13 while Ricciardo was at P18. The drivers were again not able to perform on the race day, having issues with the car. Eventually, Daniel and Lando finished the Bahrain GP with P14 and P15, respectively.

WATCH THIS STORY: Shortest F1 Drivers Ever Featuring Yuki Tsunoda & Lando Norris

The McLaren duo is currently behind the MCL36 for the Friday practice. It is still early to say how much the Woking base has improved over the past week. But it would be fascinating to see if the McLaren drivers can make a comeback at the Jeddah race.