McLaren is aiming for a stronger beginning to the upcoming season.
Lando Norris believes that McLaren has indeed made progress with its 2024 Formula 1 car, the MCL38. However, he acknowledges that the team still has a significant gap to close behind Red Bull and Ferrari.
Last season, Norris had his best performance to date, achieving seven podium finishes after the MCL60 underwent significant changes mid-season. This transformation improved McLaren’s prospects.
Remarkably, after the 2023 summer break, only Max Verstappen, the runaway title-winner, outscored Norris. This has raised expectations for McLaren in the upcoming season.
While Norris is optimistic about the team’s progress, he understands that their gains will only be meaningful in comparison to their competitors’ achievements.
“Do I believe that we have taken a step forward? Absolutely,” Norris shared with the media. “Do I think we have made significant improvements? Yes. However, at the end of the day, we can never truly know where we stand in comparison to others. I believe we are in a favorable position.
“We had a decent car towards the end of last season, and I believe we have definitely taken some steps in the right direction. However, we still have a long way to go to catch up with Red Bull, or rather, a very long way behind Red Bull, and we are still trailing behind Ferrari.
“Therefore, we still have a lot of work ahead of us to accomplish, but we have also learned a great deal over the past few days that we can implement before next week.”
This sentiment is a stark contrast to the previous year when McLaren faced numerous issues during testing and the Bahrain race, leaving them on the back foot at the start of the season.
“I believe the issues we encountered in the past few years were primarily due to a lack of preparation and knowledge in certain areas,” Norris explained.
“This year, I believe we have been much better prepared in every aspect, and I am very pleased with that. The team has done an outstanding job in ensuring everything is ready and without any faults.”
Despite some interruptions to his race runs, Norris remains optimistic about the overall outlook of the team. He believes McLaren has entered this season, this test, and this year in a much better position than in the last three to four years.
“I believe we have come into this season with more knowledge, expertise, and a much better car to start off with. I am excited, and I have been since the very beginning, knowing that we are starting the year in a favorable position. I am eager to see how we can transform things because we did an excellent job of that last year.
“The team has done well, and I am very satisfied with their efforts. There are still more things to come.”