Lando Norris crossed the line in sixth place at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix to cap a measured display for the McLaren team.
Lando Norris has faith that McLaren can consistently challenge Mercedes during the upcoming campaign following the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Norris finished in sixth position, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes ahead and behind him, respectively.
Mercedes finished last season in second place in the Constructors’ Championship, and now they are entering the new year. McLaren aims to build on its strong performance in the second half of the 2023 season, which saw them secure nine podium finishes.
Norris expressed optimism about being able to compete with Ferrari but acknowledged that the Italian team seems unreachable.
“For our pace to still be very similar to Mercedes is a good thing,” Norris told media including RacingNews365.
“At times we thought we could challenge Ferrari but Carlos [Sainz] showed what Ferrari’s potential was.
“We were close to Mercedes, I don’t think we had any advantage over them. The pace was so similar that as soon as I got into the dirty air, I just didn’t have enough of an advantage to get a chance to overtake, even with DRS.”
Challenging Mercedes.
Bahrain has traditionally been a circuit that McLaren has struggled at, leaving Norris confident that the team can consistently challenge Mercedes going forward.
“Maybe after yesterday, I expected a little bit more,” he said. “But when I say a bit more, there’s a big position change, but not a big lap time change.
“One and a half tenths yesterday was four positions.
“ To be honest, I didn’t expect much change. Perhaps I could have been in front of George, but that’s all. “I believe it’s in the place we anticipated. This is a positive beginning to the season.”
Given that we continue to face difficulties on this particular track, the fact that we are still able to compete closely with Mercedes is a positive indication that we may have an advantage at certain other tracks. “I believe in the team’s capabilities and am pleased with the progress we have made so far.”