Throughout his time at McLaren, Norris has consistently displayed impressive performances in Formula 1, demonstrating his growth as a driver. Season after season, he has exhibited remarkable consistency, regularly finishing in the points and showcasing his ability to extract the maximum from his car.
Lando Norris joined McLaren as a rookie driver in the 2019 season, bringing with him high expectations and a reputation as a rising star. From the outset, Norris made a strong impression, showcasing his speed, maturity, and natural talent. He quickly developed a strong rapport with the team and established himself as a promising prospect for the future, frequently beating his team mates.
Norris a consistent force for McLaren
Throughout his time at McLaren, Norris has consistently displayed impressive performances, demonstrating his growth as a driver. Season after season, he has exhibited remarkable consistency, regularly finishing in the points and showcasing his ability to extract the maximum from his car.
Norris’s development and growth in his racecraft and technical understanding have been evident, as he continues to hone his skills and refine his approach on and off the track.
MORE NEWS: Red Bull ban Verstappen from German event
Podiums for the resurgent Woking team
Lando Norris has achieved several noteworthy milestones during his time at McLaren. In the 2021 season, he secured his first podium finish with a third-place result at the Austrian Grand Prix, showcasing his ability to compete at the front of the grid. Norris followed up this success with additional podium finishes and strong performances, consistently challenging the established front-runners.
Lando Norris signed a contract extension worth 99 million dollars in 2022 that plans to keep the British driver at McLaren till 2025. However, the downside is that there are no release clauses in his contract, meaning Norris cannot leave if a better opportunity presents itself.
READ MORE:” They will surpass Red Bull in 2023,” Hakkinen.
Prepare yourselves for the first ever team principal special helmet video! 😍
Thank you so much to @CanadiensMTL for this unique memento for Guenther 🏒#HaasF1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/uh7M9UJeJ1
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) June 16, 2023
2023 downturn for McLaren
It certainly seems that the young talent has started to find this commitment to a McLaren team on the downturn a serious issue.
Perhaps McLaren’s performance this year doesn’t come as much surprise, as early as September last year, McLaren realised they were at risk of not being ready for the start of the season, and when car launch season rolled around, they admitted they missed developmental deadlines.
It appears that after practice on Friday for the Canadian Grand Prix, the hope of a points result seems a million miles off for Norris.
Norris sounds alarm for the rest of the season
“Car is just miles off the pace on Sunday.” says Lando Norris who sounds the alarm, slamming his team’s car and efforts thus far, also declaring without updates McLaren is nowhere.
Lando Norris is being asked about his hopes for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal as a potential turning point for McLaren in the 2023 Formula 1 season. However, his response exudes disillusionment:
“To be honest: We don’t fancy any track.” – a damning statement indeed!
The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona only reinforced this sentiment. McLaren left the circuit, which has long been regarded as a benchmark for the whole F1 season, with a sense of disappointment and zero championship points.
Norris remarks, “The pace just wasn’t there.”
MORE F1: Verstappen reveals impact of Perez error
Despite great qualifying, we’re nowhere on Sundays
He makes it clear: “Even if I had led the race after turn 1, the chances of scoring points would have been slim. We face more issues during the race compared to qualifying.”
“I’m not entirely sure of the reasons behind that. But Ferrari also struggles on Sundays despite their strong Saturdays. Our car falls miles behind in terms of pace on Sundays. So until we introduce new parts to the car, I don’t expect easy races.”
The MCL60 has multiple weaknesses, not just one
The question remains: What exactly needs to be addressed with the MCL60? Norris explains that the car doesn’t possess a single major weakness but rather several shortcomings. Broadly speaking, McLaren encounters “problems in the corners,” and “long corners only exacerbate the situation,” according to Norris.
“We perform relatively well in fast corners. We appear to be quite competitive there. When there’s a significant amount of downforce and at high speeds, we are at the forefront. In slow corners, the opposite occurs. Turns 10 and 12 in Barcelona, for example, were disastrous for us. And that’s painful.”
Norris further elaborates that the handling of the MCL60 is “simply not good.” He emphasizes, “It’s not just missing 20 downforce points at the front and rear.”
READ MORE – Hamiltons replacement: Former F1 driver claims to know
Will an update be sufficient to address all the issues?
The tyre balance also requires improvement. In Barcelona, McLaren did demonstrate notable progress on the first lap with fresh tires.
“But on the second lap with fresh tires, we were slower than on the first lap! We need to comprehend all of that and rectify it,” Norris asserts.
“That’s what it will take for us to improve as a team.”
Can the anticipated major update from McLaren effectively address so many “ailments” at once? Norris opts to wait and observe: “I haven’t tested the new parts in the simulator yet. So I really can’t gauge their impact.”
“But we are diligently working on all aspects, not just aerodynamics. In modern Formula 1, it’s not solely about the level of downforce. There are numerous factors that must be balanced to achieve speed.”
READ MORE: Two new F1 driver contracts signed for next season
Finding a way to persevere
Until then, Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri will need to do their best with a challenging car and provide feedback to the engineers. “Because figuring out why is incredibly difficult,” Norris admits. At present, McLaren is still partially in the dark regarding the root causes.
“But we’ll figure it out,” asserts Norris.
“There is clear evidence that we have already taken positive steps in the right direction. It’s evident at the factory. So things are definitely looking better, and we have hope. But it will require ongoing patience.”
READ MORE: Fastest on Friday, Mercedes duo react
Norris’ long history of mistakes and inconsistency might be a factor as to why he wasn’t previously snatched away by a team further up the grid … a history which continues to this very day unfortunately for McLaren.