McLaren CEO gives TRUTHFUL opinion on Lando Norris' public criticism

Lando Norris is seething at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix — Photo: © LAT Images

McLaren

McLaren CEO gives TRUTHFUL opinion on Norris' public criticism

Zak Brown shared his thoughts about Norris' public criticism of the MCL60

Anna Malyon

Monday 21 August 2023 08:27

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has deemed Lando Norris’s public criticism of the MCL60 as being motivational rather than a discouragement, after referring to the car as 'pretty terrible'.

The Woking-based team encountered challenges at the beginning of the 2023 Formula 1 season, attributing these difficulties to not meeting their targets prior to the cars launch.

However, upgrades introduced during the Austrian Grand Prix started to yield results before the summer break, seeing Norris’ McLaren securing podium finishes at both Silverstone and the Hungaroring.

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Yet Norris said despite impressive recent results, the team must not get ahead of themselves, maintaining that the car is still 'pretty terrible' in low-speed corners.

“We do have a poor car and I would say pretty terrible in the slow-speed corners, extremely difficult to drive,” said Norris to Motorsport.com.

“I feel as if we’re getting excited and I accept that, but we’re going to go to a couple of tracks coming up where I’m sure people are going to be saying: ‘What have you done now? Like, how has it got so bad all of a sudden?'”

Motivation

However, despite the British driver being open about the poor performances of the McLaren, Brown insisted these comments serve as a motivation to improve the car.

"We kind of get happy together, we get grumpy together. So, if he's made a comment, it's consistent, it's motivating,” Brown said. "We don't get down, we fight hard. I mean, if you look at how poor start the season was, that was hard.

"Meanwhile, underneath the surface we knew we were seeing great development in the wind tunnel, so it was like publicly taking a battering at the start of the year while knowing underneath things were actually going really well.

"And the team handled it really well, so we're motivated."

McLaren's recent resurgence has put them into contention to compete for second in the constructors’ championship, alongside the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin.

The British team has focused its efforts on prioritising the development of the low-drag wing, aiming to enhance their competitiveness at Monza.

The upcoming double-header will provide a true reflection on McLaren’s actual progress.