Despite topping the charts, Norris feels uneasy with the MCL38, while Piastri expresses satisfaction with the practice sessions.
Lando Norris insists he is not comfortable with his McLaren F1 despite setting the fastest time in Friday’s free practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps.
The McLaren driver was two tenths faster than teammate Oscar Piastri, leading the second free practice session ahead of Max Verstappen in third place.
However, although he was the quickest over a single lap, Norris was less satisfied with how the McLaren felt on this high-speed circuit.
“It’s good, but it’s still tight. Red Bull are quick at the moment. It’s tricky because I didn’t feel comfortable today with the car. I hope I wake up tomorrow feeling more comfortable. We’re going to try and improve a few things.”
“It looks good on the timesheets, but I wasn’t very comfortable going out there and doing a fast lap. I hope I can find a better rhythm there.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot to review. We always arrive at a circuit now just a few small steps away from optimum.”
“It’s no longer about really changing the whole car overnight. If we do, we’re not doing a good enough job before the weekend.”
“We’ve prepared well. We have a good setup. It works. From my side, I don’t feel like I can go all out yet. It’s me and a bit the car. I’m not quite there yet.”
The risk of rain is high at the Belgian circuit for Saturday’s qualifying session. Norris says he will have to decide whether to compromise between his downforce levels for a wet qualifying and a dry race on Sunday.
“Generally, in the rain, you want to go for high downforce, but I don’t think that’s the way to go anyway. But I don’t know yet. So I’m going to sit down with my guys and we’ll talk about it.”
Oscar Piastri, who clocked the second fastest time and aims to build on his first Grand Prix win in Hungary, gave a slightly more positive assessment of his comfort behind the wheel, despite some challenging moments during his long stints.
“A solid day, no doubt. I think we looked quite quick in FP1, I think we got stronger in FP2. I feel like we’re in a good position, the day was very calm.”
“We sort of did everything we wanted and learned as much as we could. I feel good. The weather will probably render all this work moot tomorrow, but it’s a really solid first day that will serve us well on Sunday.”
Piastri also commented on Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty for an engine change, and how it might benefit McLaren over the weekend.
“Definitely a good help! I mean, it’s better than if he was starting at the front! You can’t underestimate him, it’s a track where they’ve been very quick in recent years, and they seem fast again this weekend.”
“You know, I expect him to make his way through the field, but having a bit of a head start, hopefully, will certainly help us a little.”
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