Lando Norris praises Ferrari for taking a ‘very big step’ to catch-up with Red Bull in 2024

Lando Norris was impressed by Ferrari's performance against Red Bull so far this season.

Lando Norris praises Ferrari for taking a ‘very big step’ to catch-up with Red Bull in 2024

Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz (Via: Imago)

Red Bull started off 2024 with another dominant car. However, this season is different than 2023 as rivals have managed to get closer to the reigning world champions. Ferrari is the prime contender against Milton Keynes as Carlos Sainz took victory in Australia. Now, Lando Norris shared his opinions over the pecking order.

Lando Norris mentioned that the gap between rival teams and Red Bull was completely ‘expected’. The Briton highlighted that Milton Keynes put a lot of time and effort into the radically-designed RB20. Hence, Norris reckoned that it was a ‘great sign’ for rival teams to be so close to the Austrian team. The reliability issues during the Australian GP proved to be fatal for Red Bull as the competition narrowed down even further.

The gap to Red Bull is completely expected, If you look at when they stopped developing last year, they put a lot of time and effort into trying to develop a good car for this year. So for us to be still as close as we are to them, I think it's a good sign.
Lando Norris said, as reported by motorsport.com.
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Norris declared that Ferrari had been the most impressive in terms of shortening the performance gap to Milton Keynes. Maranello took a ‘very big step’ compared to the previous year from this time around, according to the 24-year-old. However, Lando Norris highlighted McLaren still being so close to the top two was a ‘good sign’ for the Woking-based team.

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You would probably say the most impressive has been Ferrari, in how they've been able to take a very big step, I would say, probably one of the biggest steps from last year to this year. But for us to still be not far behind I think it's a completely good sign for us.
Lando Norris noted.

Lando Norris delighted by McLaren’s ‘solid position’ this season

McLaren has a much solid start to the 2024 season as compared to the previous campaign. Hence, Norris was delighted with the team’s current situation against the rival teams. The entire situation brought a ‘smile’ to the Briton’s face. The Woking-based team was in a good position and can still do a lot better according to the 24-year-old. Hence, the British would likely improve down the season by bringing in updates and fending off well against Mercedes.

But I think for us to start the season in such a solid position, knowing that we can still improve on so many areas, it's a smile on my face, because we're in a good position, and we know we can get a lot better still.
Lando Norris mentioned.
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

The situation 12 months back was very different for McLaren in the pinnacle of motorsport. Norris pointed out that Woking has out-developed its competitors since then by a huge step. However, there are still plenty of things to do for the constructor in Formula 1 in regard to improvement. Regardless, the 2024 season is a great checkpoint for the team for future development.

If you think back to 12 months ago, it was still a very, very different situation to be in. We've out-developed our competitors since this time last year by a huge step. It gets harder and harder to do that the closer you get to the top, but still plenty of things for us to do.
Lando Norris noted.

Hence, it will be exciting to watch how well McLaren will fight against Ferrari for the runner-up spot in the constructors championship. Additionally, Mercedes would also bring up updates to improve their position in the 2024 season. As a result, the Woking crew will have to be on their toes to ensure a comfortable finish in the championship.