Lando Norris, British driver for McLaren, admitted that he is still adjusting his driving style to maximize the performance of the team’s latest Formula 1 car, despite being pleased with the overall progress. McLaren had a remarkable turnaround last season, with Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri securing podiums after initially struggling to avoid elimination in the early stages of qualifying. However, despite Norris achieving seven podiums and enjoying his most successful season in Formula 1, he admits he still doesn’t feel completely comfortable behind the wheel of the MCL60. Although McLaren’s 2024 car is an improvement over its predecessor, Norris reveals that the MCL38 still has certain characteristics he doesn’t like. In the recent race in Saudi Arabia, Piastri outperformed Norris, placing himself ahead of his teammate in the championship standings. Norris acknowledges the progress McLaren has made in various areas but admits that the car’s characteristics are not aligned with his expectations and desires for the team. However, he remains optimistic about ongoing development and improvement efforts. While McLaren came into testing sessions with several ideas to address these weaknesses, they have not yet identified a clear path forward. Consequently, there is still much work to be done to address these larger areas of concern, which ultimately would enhance Norris’s driving experience, improve consistency, and increase the car’s overall speed. Although this poses a significant challenge, Norris remains hopeful that progress will continue to be made. While he is not entirely satisfied with the current situation, he is pleased with the overall progress McLaren has achieved during the winter break.
The McLaren team boss, Andrea Stella, has announced that the team will implement small updates in the upcoming races, with a significant upgrade package planned for the summer. As competition heats up among the teams trailing behind Red Bull, McLaren driver Lando Norris recognizes the importance of these incremental developments for the team’s success. Norris explained that these updates may only result in an improvement of a few hundredths of a second in various areas of the car, but when combined, they can make a difference of up to a tenth of a second. Although these updates are common to all teams, McLaren is focused on making their updates more substantial and efficient. These ongoing developments aim to enhance the car’s performance and will be introduced regularly, with larger updates scheduled for the future.
