Norris: Red Bull and Mercedes are a little bit ahead of us
Lando Norris opened up about his new MCL36. Although he achieved the fastest time on the first day of testing in Barcelona, he sees Mercedes and Red Bull a step ahead of McLaren, and he doesn't forget about Ferrari, which seems "very strong".
Just days before the winter tests in Bahrain (March 10-12), Lando Norris opened up about the performance of the MCL 36. McLaren drivers have appeared comfortable on the track at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, riding the wave of a promising 2021 season that concluded with a remarkable double at Monza, securing fourth place in the constructors’ championship. The young Brit, entering his fourth season in the pinnacle category, believes that the hierarchy should not be disrupted by the regulatory revolution. He sees several teams better equipped than McLaren, particularly the eight-time reigning champions, Mercedes.
« Mercedes never looks good during winter testing, until the first race comes around. If they are good during testing, it means they will probably be incredible in the first race! » joked Lando Norris. « We only see a snapshot in time, we appear to be in a decent position, but Mercedes and Ferrari have looked very strong from day one. They have been topping the timesheets all the time and their race pace looks good. Ferrari looks very strong, but Mercedes and Red Bull are right there with us, and I would even say a bit ahead for now. I think we still have a lot of work to do with the team if we want to compete with them. That’s what we’re aiming for, but we know there is still a lot to do to progress and reach their level. »
Norris had set the fastest time on the first day of testing in Barcelona, which put him in a slightly difficult position. Now that we’re in P1, everyone will think we’re going to win the [first] race. No chance. I think we’ve made some good improvements since the start of the day, but we’re only on the first day of the season and if we’re amazing now, everything could change by the time we get to the first race. […] I didn’t want to be P1. I would have preferred to be last because now the expectations are really high and everyone thinks we’re incredible, he warned.
The technical director of McLaren, James Key, seemed more optimistic than his driver about the performance of the MCL36. The first real comparisons will take place on March 20th in Bahrain.
