McLaren and especially Lando Norris were the positive surprise at the British Grand Prix. The local rider managed to qualify in second position on Saturday and on Sunday he was able to maintain the position. Not only that, but he was 3.7 seconds behind Max Verstappen, which is the shortest gap so far this season between the Dutchman and his closest rival (if you don’t count the Australian GP, where made a restart with two laps to go).
A great evolution, especially if you look back. McLaren started the first two races of the championship without points and in the lowest places on the grid. But those from Woking have been raising benefits. Above all, from the improvement package introduced, progressively, from the Canadian GP and which has culminated in the podium achieved at “home”.
However, Norris is not entirely optimistic about the performance of his car, as he has shown in some statements in Motorsport. “I don’t want to get too excited. Good things have been done with the improvements, but there are still many things that are still far from competing in certain places with a Mercedes, and overall to be able to compete even with a Red Bull”, comments the Briton.
One of the main reasons for lowering the euphoria lies in the McLaren’s performance in low-speed corners. “We have a poor car, I would say quite terrible, in low speed corners. It’s extremely difficult to drive,” notes Norris.
Silverstone, reason for competitiveness
As demonstrated, the characteristics of the MCL60 were perfectly matched to Silverstone’s mid- and high-speed cornering, as well as downgrading. “Many things are specific to each circuit. We are very competitive at high speed and we are almost on par with what the Red Bull team could achieve.. I would say at medium speed like Turn 15 here, Stowe, we are close to the best car on the grid. This circuit has allowed us to take better care of the wheels and keep them in good condition. It’s that simple,” he says.
Regarding the immediate future, the British once again put aside the euphoria that the second place he achieved could cause, and is forceful. “I feel that people get emotional and I accept it, but We’re going to go to a couple of tracks soon where I’m sure they’re going to say, ‘What happened now? How did it go so bad all of a sudden?says Norris.
In the same direction is Andrea Stella, sports director of McLaren. “In a way, we are looking forward to coming to Hungary to see more thoroughly where we really are. There is not as much high speed corner and if anything it is a track dominated by medium and low speed. In addition, hot conditions can occur which, again, It’s another testing ground for us.”.