Lando Norris believes McLaren had the potential to outperform Ferrari in Australia, despite a strategic misstep and acknowledgment of the MCL38’s weaknesses.
Following the Australian Grand Prix, Lando Norris stated that McLaren F1 could have positioned itself between the two Ferraris, lamenting a strategy that did not pay off. This theory was contested by his director, Andrea Stella, who considered the red cars faster, yet the driver insists on this point.
“I believe we expected a good pace, but maybe not to the extent of Charles. Honestly, I would say our pace was probably a bit better than Charles’s in Australia,” Norris remarked.
“It’s evident they have a faster car than us, so the fact that we were able to compete with them, to compete with Ferrari, is a very good sign for us. A positive weekend and a solid haul of points, so we couldn’t be happier.”
Norris acknowledges that the MCL38’s weaknesses lie in slow corners, which gives hope for Japan in ten days: “Referring to Suzuka last year, it was one of our best weekends, with both cars on the podium and just the Red Bull ahead of us.”
“I think it’s clear that Red Bull may be two steps ahead of us and Ferrari one, but when you get to a circuit that suits us, I believe we can be confident.”
“We are very strong in high-speed corners, which is why we performed well here, but we lose a lot of time in low-speed corners.”
“If we manage to improve just a little in this area, I would say most weekends, we can fight for podiums and good points. We’re missing a few small things, but we’re working on it, and as soon as we get there, everything will click into place.”
Upcoming developments for Miami
McLaren CEO Zak Brown says his team aims to score more podiums with the next developments of its car.
The team is working on improvements to its MCL38 after the Chinese Grand Prix.
“I think Miami is the plan for now. That’s the target. We’re working hard, like everyone. But I think if we can stay on the development trajectory we’ve been on since the second half of last year, we should just be faster and accumulate more podiums this year.”
McLaren Excels in High-Speed Corners, Struggles in Slow. McLaren Excels in High-Speed Corners, Struggles in Slow
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