Despite McLaren’s strong pace, Lando Norris admits the car remains tricky to drive and doesn’t match his natural driving style.
Is everything really going smoothly for McLaren in F1?
Surprisingly, Lando Norris has shown some skepticism and caution despite his team’s strong performance in the season’s opening races.
While the British driver acknowledges McLaren’s pace, he insists the car is far from easy to handle. Is its operating window simply too narrow?
A Tough Car to Handle
“I hope we can do better, and I hope it gets a bit easier,” Norris admitted ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.
“Australia was a great race for us—our lead over our rivals mid-race was around 15 seconds, so the Safety Cars definitely brought them back into contention. We’re optimistic.”
“My start was good, but was it perfect? No. I can see exactly where I lost performance off the line. Technically speaking, the car is working well, but it’s still extremely challenging to drive.”
“We know that in some conditions—like in the wet—Max [Verstappen] was as fast as us. In the dry, we had a bit of an edge. The goal now is to make the car more predictable and comfortable.”
“At the moment, we’re at a good level—I can’t complain. The package is well-balanced. But both Oscar [Piastri] and I have similar feedback, which gives the engineers at the factory a clear direction on what we want to improve. And yes, the car is great, but we always want more.”
A Closer Fight in China?
Could the gap between McLaren and the competition shrink in Shanghai?
“It’s a different race, a different weekend, so I wouldn’t say we’re confident things will play out exactly the same way. I expect Ferrari to be more competitive this weekend. And we’ve already seen how fast Red Bull is—they’re definitely still in the mix.”
“When everything is perfect, like in qualifying, we have an advantage. But they’re not far behind at all.”
“As a driver, you’re always pushing the limits of what the car can do, always looking for areas to improve.”
Norris: This Car Just Doesn’t Suit Me
Norris also gave insight into how the MCL39 compares to last year’s car. Instead of tailoring the car to his driving style, he has had to adapt himself to it.
In fact, the championship leader even admits the McLaren F1 is completely at odds with his natural way of driving!
“Some characteristics are the same as last year’s car.”
“But it still doesn’t suit my driving style at all. I’ve just accepted that you can’t always have a car that fits you perfectly—it might work better for others.”
“I’ve stopped asking for exactly what I want and instead focus on whatever makes the car faster. It’s probably a difficult car to drive and extract performance from over a lap, but it’s clearly a step forward from last year.”
“My job is to drive the car I’m given—that’s what I’m here for, and that’s why McLaren wants me. They believe I can get the most out of it. It’s a 50/50 balance—some things work for me, while others don’t match my natural style at all.”
“I struggle most with braking and attacking corners—it’s weak in that area. That’s not what I like, but every year, I have to adjust my driving accordingly. The McLaren I’m driving today is completely different from the one a few years ago—back then, we were at the back of the grid, and now we’re fighting at the front.”
“But some things stay the same—I’ve only ever driven McLarens, so it’s all I know. This car is unique in some ways. We have clear strengths and weaknesses. And whenever a driver leaves McLaren, they often mention how tricky or unusual the car is—whether it was Daniel [Ricciardo] or Carlos [Sainz].”
“I’ve just gotten used to it. So I’ll drive whatever car they give me—as long as it’s fast enough to fight for wins, I’m happy.”
Ferrari’s Unexpected Struggles
While Red Bull and possibly Mercedes seem like McLaren’s main threats, Ferrari has had a surprisingly slow start to the season.
Even Norris was caught off guard by how far behind the Scuderia was in Australia.
“The gap we had in qualifying surprised me a bit.”
“We expected to be on pole and to be the fastest. But we also thought Ferrari would be much closer than they were.”
“I think they ended up seven or eight tenths behind. But they’re not actually that far off us. In every practice session, they looked much more competitive.”
“On Friday, their race pace even seemed better than ours. We were probably a bit surprised. I’m sure they were too—I don’t know why they struggled so much.”
“It just shows how tough it is. One moment, everything seems perfect, and then suddenly, things can slip away. You saw how quick Max was at the end—even in the first few laps. And in those last six or seven laps, he was as fast as us.”
“In these conditions—where the track is drying, and you need to manage tire wear—you want a car that’s balanced, so the tires degrade evenly. That’s where we seem very, very strong.”
No Pressure for the Title
Despite McLaren’s strong form, Norris refuses to entertain any talk of a title fight just yet.
When asked if he sees himself as a championship contender, his response was clear.
“No. Nothing changes for me right now. I don’t think about it. It shouldn’t change anything about how I approach my job. It shouldn’t change how the team works.”
“I had a good weekend, but people need to calm down a bit. I’m staying focused and just trying to do the same thing again this weekend. I probably won’t even think about the championship until at least halfway through the season.”
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Norris Admits: “McLaren F1 Is Fast but Hard to Handle” Norris Admits: “McLaren F1 Is Fast but Hard to Handle”
