“It suited Daniel a lot more than it suited me,” Lando Norris opines on the handling woes of MCL-36
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Lando Norris in McLaren's MCL36
McLaren’s MCL-36 has proven to be a difficult car to drive this year as both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo have both shown their frustration at different points of the season.
The Woking-based team was in the fight for third place in the Constructors Championship last year, however, with the dawn of new regulations in the sport, the team has gone backward in terms of development.
Moreover, the team’s drivers have also not been happy with the package that they have been given this year. on one hand, the MCL-36 is nowhere near the front running teams, and on the other, the car has also been extremely difficult to drive.
Lando Norris was recently asked whether the MCL-36 is more adapted to him than Ricciardo and the young Brit said, “It couldn’t be more untrue… It’s very unsuited to my driving style. I would say the beginning of the year, suited Daniel a lot more than it suited me.”
He has further added, “We do drive in different ways, and therefore, what we request from the car is quite different.“
“There have been things said that he doesn’t suit the car, and everyone says that I do suit the car, and the car is made around me and all of that stuff. It couldn’t be more untrue.“
“Not that I hate the car I’m driving now, but it’s very unsuited to my driving style.“
“I would say at the beginning of the year; it suited Daniel a lot more than it suited me in terms of how you had to drive it.“
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Lando Norris states that the MCL-36 is far from being the ideal car
Lando Norris, after 13 rounds, has managed to amass 76 points in the Drivers Championship and is currently sitting in the seventh position. Despite driving a tough car Lando has proven to be the best among the rest.
The Brit is seen as one of the most prolific young drivers on the grid and while further dwelling over his MCL-36 issues has said, “That’s something I really struggled with at the beginning of the season, and I’m coping with, or I’ve adapted to a lot more now. But it’s far from a car that I would want in an ideal world.”
“I’ve had to adapt a lot more to the car. There’s not a lot that the team can do for me. They just make it [the car] as quick as possible.“
“I request things, and I say this is the direction I want to go in, but it’s not like they just go and focus on that in the wind tunnel.”
“By no means is it anywhere near more adapted to me than to him. I feel like I’m driving a pretty similar car in terms of characteristics as I drove in my first year of F1.“
“It’s changed in little ways, but nothing I would say now is more adapted to me now than in my first year of racing.”
Lando Norris has dismissed all reports saying that the MCL-36 is more suited to him than Daniel Ricciardo and has further stated that he had to change his diving style significantly in order to get decent results in the tough-to-maneuver livery.
The second half of the season is kicking off on the 26th of August and considering how the 22-year-old has talked about the MCL-36, it will be a fascinating watch to see how Lando handles the car now that he has had a months time to dwell over things and how to make the car work for the better.
Moreover, Alpine is another problem that Norris and Co. have got to handle, as currently, McLaren is behind the French team in the Constructors Championship.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)