Lando Norris claims Red Bull ‘very close’ to McLaren amidst ‘uncomfortable’ MCL38 at Belgian GP
Lando Norris admitted that McLaren had work to do before Qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps.
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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)
The first day of the Belgian GP saw McLaren dominate the Spa-Francorchamps with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri 1-2 finish in FP2. However, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seemed very quick during the practice sessions amidst facing a ten-place grid penalty on the race day. Norris reckoned the Dutchman could catch them anytime soon if they made any mistake on Saturday.
Lando Norris mentioned that currently he and Oscar Piastri are performing the best on the grid. However, the competition is very close particularly with Max Verstappen and Red Bull, who are their main rivals for the world title. The young Briton noted that Verstappen’s is also showing strong performance, making the situation quite challenging for them. He admitted that he didn’t feel entirely comfortable with his MCL38 during the session. This affected his ability to drive as effectively as he would have liked.
We are doing well at the moment ,but we are all very close [in terms of times]. Red Bull seems very close at the moment. It is complicated here and I didn’t feel completely comfortable with the car today.Lando Norris said, as reported by Formulapassion.it
Lando Norris emphasized that he and McLaren still had some work to do before the Qualifying to improve his comfort with the car. He acknowledged that there are areas where adjustments can be made to enhance performance. The 26-year-old hoped that by addressing these issues, he will be able to find additional speed and improve his performance for the upcoming session.
There is still some work to do for tomorrow to make me feel better. There are aspects to improve. I hope to find even more pace for tomorrow.Lando Norris added.
Zack Brown reckoned Lando Norris wouldn’t have beaten Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian GP
Zack Brown in an interview stated that he doesn’t think Lando Norris believed he could have beaten Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian GP. He mentioned that the Aussie was driving exceptionally well. The strategy of making an early pit stop created a significant gap between the two drivers. Brown stated if they had chosen to pit Piastri first, he would have emerged from the pit stop with a lead of six or seven seconds over Norris. However, they avoided this move and pitted Piastri later.
I don't think Lando thinks he would have beaten Oscar, Oscar was absolutely flying and the undercut presented a big gap and had we pitted Oscar first, he would have come out six or seven seconds ahead.Zak Brown said, as reported by RacingNews365
Brown explained that they chose to focus on making sure they had a good strategy to cover Lewis Hamilton’s position. So they decided Norris to box so that he can defend Lewis Hamilton who was trailing behind the oranges. This meant they wanted to make sure they were ahead of Hamilton or at least kept up with him. Since their strategy worked out, they were able to stay ahead of the Briton. The 52-year-old believed that there was no immediate need to make a quick decision or change their plan right away.
But we wanted to make sure we had Lewis covered, it turned out we did so I don't think he needed to do it right away.Zak Brown added.
Certainly, Zack Brown reckoned that their strategy to pit Norris first worked well to give Piastri his first ever win. McLaren is looking strong at the Belgian GP as both the drivers dominated the practice sessions. Fans hope they end the half of the season on a good note ahead of the summer break.
In case you missed it:
- WATCH: “Very popular with the ladies,” Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez HILARIOUSLY play a game of Guess the Driver at Belgian GP
- Oscar Pastri admits Max Verstappen can’t be ruled out despite ten-place grid penalty
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Gaurang Kadam
(535 Articles Published)