Lando Norris has improved a lot, McLaren is developing quickly – according to their boss, it is not unrealistic for them to catch up with Red Bull.
In China, Lando Norris achieved his and his team’s best position so far this year. The second-placed Briton defeated one of the Red Bull drivers, Sergio Pérez, while McLaren proved to be the most competitive so far on a track that it had previously feared.
Team boss Andrea Stella didn’t hide it, they were also surprised by their excellent race pace after Saturday’s sprint. Based on the competition at the time, they did not expect such a performance. “No, because in the sprint we didn’t see that we had the race pace to beat Ferrari. It was as we expected beforehand. So we were a bit surprised by our race pace” explained the Italian.
“We know in one lap that we are strong, because of the new soft tires. We can do a good job in one round. But when we are constantly circling, our performance deteriorates a bit. Now, however, the state of the track and the cool conditions helped us manage the rear tires, so we were able to take advantage of the strengths of our car, which we also saw in qualifying.”
Norris and the first victory: “It will come! It can come together this year”
Second place in China is enough for Lando Norris with a win, but still not a victory. After another Pazar performance, he admitted that he was frustrated by the situation. But how long do you have to wait for the first one?
He added that, compared to the sprint, they also changed the settings, and compared to their preliminary expectations, the change was that the Shanghai track did not load the front tires as much as they thought.
Stella is satisfied with the pace of his team’s development, seeing that he continues to hold his own so that they can catch up with Red Bull. Even though they were slightly closer to them at the end of last season.
“We fell back because we improved a lot before, while they didn’t improve. Therefore, it is more worthwhile to look at a longer period, and based on the longer period, our development curve is good. If we can keep up this pace for the next twelve months, why not, maybe we’ll catch Red Bull”
he declared.
However, Stella is not only satisfied with the development of their team and their car, but also with Lando Norris’s. Their pointed competitor is able to squeeze more and more out of their package. “During the competition, you will become more and more balanced, you will see more and more what is happening. A better and better competitor, more and more accurate. He’s worked really well with his engineers and the factory to take advantage of the opportunities and make better adjustments so that he can use the car’s potential more. He deserves the credit” – praised the Briton who scored his 15th F1 podium.
