Lando Norris makes ‘two big steps’ prediction for McLaren to catch F1 big guns

Lando Norris believes McLaren have “two big steps” to make to catch Ferrari and Red Bull respectively this season, after a solid start in Bahrain.

A P6 finish was a marked improvement on where McLaren began 2023 as Norris and Oscar Piastri earned a decent haul of points on a circuit where McLaren have traditionally not performed well, but they know there is a big task in front of them to catch Ferrari and Red Bull.

Lando Norris: McLaren require ‘two big steps’ to catch frontrunners
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

McLaren sit among the congested chasing pack behind Red Bull, with Max Verstappen having sailed to a first win of the season by more than 20 seconds in Bahrain.

But with the Woking-based team having been the constructor to have improved the most by quite some distance as 2023 went on, hopes were high about their prospects heading into this season.

As the pack closes up, Norris is looking to other circuits and McLaren’s upgrades to make the steps required to catch the cars in front.

When it was put to him that Red Bull were ‘on another planet’ in Bahrain through Max Verstappen’s victory on Saturday, Norris was not so sure, replying to media including PlanetF1.com: “I mean, they weren’t.

“Carlos [Sainz] was not far behind and they’re always very good on race pace the Red Bulls and this track, you need to be good on tyres because it’s so abrasive.

I believe Ferrari has performed well, as they typically do well at this track.   It is evident that they are still leading the race.  

When reviewing yesterday’s performance, it was not clear who was in the lead.   Charles Leclerc had the fastest lap, so perhaps they will have a competitive battle which will benefit everyone.”   

“Nevertheless, Red Bull excels in race pace, with Max being particularly dominant in this aspect.”   

“On a track like this, there is a considerable gap between us and Ferrari, followed by an additional gap between Ferrari and Red Bull. Therefore, we need to make up two significant steps, but beginning with one would be beneficial.”   

Norris was asked if he believed that the significant progress he mentioned earlier was possible.  

He replied by stating that it is achievable for Ferrari, and added that there are certain tracks where they may be able to achieve it while there are others where they may not due to various changes being made.