McLaren's Lando Norris excited for 2020 Formula One season

McLaren

Norris excited for 2020 F1 season

Norris confident the MCL35 will be a strong package

Sam Hall

Wednesday 29 January 2020 15:39

Lando Norris can't wait to get going with preseason testing in Barcelona, the MCL35 having been heavily influenced by feedback from Norris and teammate Carlos Sainz.

Voted as the fans' rookie of the year, Norris finished the year eleventh in the drivers' standings and, despite being well behind Sainz on points, having won the head-to-head qualifying battle between the pair.

“I’m itching to get back in the car, especially this year," said Norris in an interview on the McLaren website. “I was [excited] last year, but I was a lot more nervous at this point in 2019 with all the new things I had to contend with: rules, information, strategies, ways of working, everything really. Whereas now, I know a lot of this stuff. I feel more relaxed and not so nervous. Instead of wondering whether I’m ready for the first race, this time I know I am and that’s why I’m so excited.

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“Formula 1 is such a complex sport. There are so many factors which impact performance, and while you can study them, you cannot properly understand them until you’ve experienced them. For example, managing the tyres, knowing when to push and when not to push, and how to respond to a rapidly changing strategy.

“You’ve got to think about the long game in races and that gets easier with experience.”

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With a season of experience behind him, Norris is now confident in knowing exactly what he wants from his Formula One car and feels that both Sainz and himself have been able to communicate their wants and needs to the team.

“This is the first year that I’ve had a lot of input in the car,” Norris added. “The MCL34 was designed in 2018, and although I drove in a few sessions that year, I didn’t have much direct input into it. But, for 2020, a lot of the MCL35 has been influenced by what Carlos and I have asked for.”

McLaren will launch their 2020 car, the MCL35 will be launched at a special event in the McLaren Technology Centre on February 13.