Lando Norris has been working hard to enhance his qualifying performances as he anticipates even narrower margins in 2024 compared to last season. The McLaren driver was highly critical of himself in 2023 whenever he failed to deliver a flawless qualifying session, following a series of mistakes in the latter part of the year. Norris reveals that this is an area he has been concentrating on during the off-season, although he still needs to put his ideas to the test in the car later this week.
“It has encompassed various aspects, both in terms of my driving technique and my ability to extract performance during laps,” Norris explained. “Understanding these characteristics and working on them has been my focus, as well as putting them to the test on the simulator and striving for improvement.
“At times, it can be challenging to make progress on certain areas until you are actually in the car and performing. Nevertheless, I have been doing everything within my capabilities, even if it involves mental aspects, to enhance my skills. I would say I have made progress, but it is always a different experience until you are back in the car, facing that moment again, and able to implement your strategies under pressure.
“I have done what I can with the support of my team, but it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of these measures until the first qualifying session of the season. Only then will we know how well they have worked and what further improvements may be necessary.”
Norris anticipates that qualifying will be an area where drivers and teams can experience the highs of a strong Q3 result one day, only to be eliminated in Q1 the next if they fail to maximize their potential.
“As regulations progress, the competition becomes tighter,” he noted. “This is typically what we observe. Last year was already one of the closest in terms of regulations for quite some time. Despite the dominance of a few teams, the gap between first and last was minimal for the majority of the season.
“Perhaps not for the top spot, but when looking at second or third place to the back of the grid, the difference was likely less than half a second. Like any regulation, it will become tighter, and at the beginning of the season, the gap may widen before narrowing again. We still have another year under the same regulations after this one.
“I am certain that we are in for a couple of years of fiercely contested racing. In the past, you could get away with an imperfect lap or a slight mistake, but I believe that will be less and less possible. Consistent results will require fewer errors, increased dedication, learning, and striving for perfection.”
According to the Source racer.com