Norris: New McLaren less on edge than '19 F1 car
Lando Norris says McLaren's 2020 Formula 1 car feels "less on edge" compared to its predecessor after the conclusion of winter testing
Norris's best time from across the two three-day tests at Barcelona last month ended up as the slowest lap in the combined standings, but his team-mate - Carlos Sainz Jr - put McLaren eighth in the same order and sixth in the overall teams' classification.
Regarding the areas he considers the MCL35 to be strong and weak from what he had felt during testing, Norris said: "It depends what I compare to.
"I'm happy with [some] areas and how it's improved compared to last year in some areas.
"Some areas it's not moved on as much as what I would have liked. Areas it's not good at compared to Mercedes - [they] are the fastest - probably everything.
"I don't think there's any area where we're as competitive as Mercedes.
"[If I could] be harsh, I could say it's not good enough in any area, but in terms of progress, which is not easy to do in Formula 1, I'm happy.
"Obviously I'm not going to say the areas.
"But yeah, [I mean] more in terms of consistency of car from one lap to another [it's better], when the wind is not terrible, [so is] being able to push on the car in the long runs.
"The car is just a bit nicer to drive. It's less on edge - less peaky, let's say. It's a bit more stable and consistent.
"I'm still pushing - the limit still moves up, and I'm driving on that limit so the car is still a lot of sliding and moving around and so on.
"But the main thing is, and an easy way to say, it's just more consistent and nicer to drive."
When asked by Autosport how happy he was with the new McLaren before heading to the first race, Norris replied: "So-so."
"I mean, things are good, I'm very happy with things and the progress we've made since [the first test]," he added.
"Because of all the things like the wind [which was strong during the days Norris drove at the second test], it's been very hard to get a good feeling of what the car is like.
"But I'm happy - I think we have an understanding at least of what the car is good at and what it's not good at. And those areas that we have to work I think it's very clear.
"So it's not easy and clear just to [say] how different those things [are] going to Australia.
"But we know those areas, which is a good thing - it's not like how or why. I think we understand that.
"As a driver, and comparing myself to this time last year, I'm a lot more confident and I feel a lot better.
"And that's a good thing - it makes me feel [like] I'm in a much better position because of that going to Australia."
Share Or Save This Story
Why Britain’s role in Formula 1 endured a troubled start
Why Bottas believes his F1 reserve driver role is the fastest route back to a race seat
Why Norris is now ready for his final exam
What McLaren thought of Piastri's explosive F1 Hungarian GP radio outburst
F1 Hungarian GP: Norris wins from Verstappen and Antonelli, Piastri retires with gearbox failure
Why Hungarian GP pole position was an ‘overachievement" for Norris – and Ferrari still has a better car
Piastri slams "unacceptable" Sainz blue-flag incident, accepts McLaren strategy in Hungarian GP
Why Sainz only got a five-second penalty for Hungarian GP clash with Piastri
Why becoming a world champion for the first time has its own pressures
What McLaren thought of Piastri's explosive F1 Hungarian GP radio outburst
How Norris shrugged off his first-lap error to deliver on McLaren's Hungarian GP pace
BTCC Thruxton: Ingram wins race three despite penalty to cut into Sutton’s lead
New Honda F1 engine to debut in Aston Martin filming day ahead of Dutch GP
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments