McLaren’s third place duel with Ferrari prepared both teams for future challenges : Lando Norris

McLaren’s third place duel with Ferrari prepared both teams for future challenges : Lando Norris

Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo

Lando Norris had quite a successful season in 2021, as he once again finished on P6 in overall standings. The Briton had a blistering start to the season, where he was placed P3 after almost 7-8 races. However, he could not finish the season on a high, as bad luck coupled with a few mistakes cost him some points.

McLaren and Ferrari battled hard for the P3 spot in the constructors championship. Eventually, the position was claimed by Ferrari who ended 47.5 ahead of McLaren. Much of it can be attributed to Carlos Sainz’s strong showing in the latter half of the season.

Lando Norris is optimistic about McLaren’s future and believes that third spot battle with Ferrari has helped groom both sides for a potential title bid in the coming years.

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“I would say it has helped quite a bit. Just being with that mentality, them keeping us on our toes, keeping us pushing, trying to find these smallest bits of lap time,” said Norris as quoted by Motorsport.

“It is easy at times to get complacent and take your mind off of it, especially if you are on your own, the third-quickest car with nobody ahead or behind you. There are ways to fall into that trap, so I think it has been good for us. The same for them – not an easy year for them, so I think it has benefitted both of us,” he added.

Lando Norris reflects on a challenging 2021 season

Lando Norris
Lando Norris

Lando Norris reflected on a challenging 2021 season, which he believes was better than the previous one. Norris suggested that McLaren were a bit closer to the front than they were in 2020. Despite the complete domination by Red Bull and Mercedes in 2021, only McLaren managed to bag a 1-2 podium finish.

“I would say it has been a tough season and I still believe we’ve had a much better season than we did last year,” said Norris. “We are closer to the front, and the gap to the rest is also much bigger, apart from Ferrari. It has still been a very good season, and not just in terms of results and points, but also how we worked together as a team and how we maximised things,” he added.

Lando Norris believes his team are in a good place to take things even further in 2022. However, with new regulations in effect, things look vert uncertain at the moment. Next year will witness one of the largest overhaul of changes in F1 history.

“I think we are in a better position for next year when we are going to racing them more often and hopefully the guys at the front more often too,” Norris continued.

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