“We’re unsure about until next week,” Lando Norris sceptical of the car’s readiness ahead of the 2022 season opener in Bahrain

McLaren, after signing Daniel Ricciardo in 2021 and pairing him up with the young British driver, Lando Norris, achieved their desired line-up of experience and young pace. And their new car, MCL36, suited the drivers well and showed strong signs in the Barcelona round of preseason testing.

However, after some good times on the board and a good pace over three days in Spain, the team looked weaker in Bahrain as they faced the issue of overheating brakes. The issue couldn’t be resolved during the testing and is expected to be fixed before the Bahrain GP itself. The Overheated brakes prevented the car from being on track for long runs, and at times short runs too.

The McLaren driver, Lando Norris, speaking of the issue, said, “I think we’re on top of it. We obviously know what the problems are. Coming up with a perfect fix is always the question. That’s what we’re unsure about until next week. It’s not a simple thing.” 

Lando Norris’ hopes of a resolution of the issue

Lando Norris was the sole tester for the McLaren on all three days in the absence of a sick Daniel Ricciardo. The driver was working closely with the team and seemed frustrated with the car’s performance. 

Earlier in testing, he said, “I don’t have a feeling for the longer runs yet, but on the short runs we’ve made some improvements again and did further aero tests. It’s been difficult with the wind changing so much and the sand getting blown onto the track,” which was indicative of the MCL36’s performance.

In a recent interview, he said, “But it’s not a simple fix; it’s quite a complicated area, it takes a lot of work, a lot of time to come up with these parts and so on and that’s why it’s the challenge to get it all here and in a good condition for next week.”

The skepticism seems to be high in McLaren’s camp, or it could turn out to be one of the tactics of the team, where they underplay their actual performance before the race. Regardless of all the games, it’d be exciting to see how does McLaren position themselves on the grid and how much of their pace sustain.

ALSO READ: “We’ve made the most of what we could do today,” Lando Norris and McLaren optimistic, but troubles in Bahrain continue to haunt

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