Lando Norris coy on McLaren prospects after topping first test day

McLaren

Norris coy on McLaren prospects after topping first test day

Norris finished P1 with 102 laps to his name

Ewan Gale

Wednesday 23 February 2022 20:30

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Lando Norris has insisted there are "many things to work on" despite finishing the first day of pre-season testing on top of the timesheets.

The McLaren driver completed 102 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the highly anticipated new era of F1 got underway.

All 10 teams showed off their new cars for the first time officially without a show car in sight as drivers looked to acclimatise themselves to the radically altered machinery.

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Whilst the result would have no doubt lifted the spirit of the Woking-based outfit given the months of hard work on developing the MCL36, Norris was quick to point out that times during testing often mean nothing.

"It is way too early to tell everything, of course. Now we are P1 and everyone is going to think we are going to win the [first] race!" he joked.

"It feels good, we made some improvements from the beginning of the day but we are only on day one of the season and even if we are amazing now, everything could change by the time we get to the first race and everything could change by the second.

"The rate of development everyone is going to bring to the first half of the season is going to be high so I just hope it is fast.

"It feels good, definitely many things to work on, some things not feeling so good but for a new car, for something we have never driven before, so many new things, I think it was a decent start."

Norris having to "programme brain and body" in new car

The new machinery is heavier than the old generation of car as well as removing aerodynamic components from the top faces and reverting to a ground-effect style structure.

Asked how the car felt compared to the MCL35M from 2021, Norris explained: "It is like 50-50.

"Many things you can just do normal and as a driver you can naturally adapt to many things.

"With some certain things, you do need to change - maybe not every driver, maybe some drivers just find this really easy and it is the perfect car for them.

"For some, a little bit for me, I kind of have to force myself to try to drive slightly differently but it is not like terrible, not really difficult or anything.

"When you drive the same car for three or four years, you get a little bit used to exactly that car, exactly how to brake and turn a wheel and everything.

"As soon as there are some differences, you have to readapt and programme your brain and your body to get used to those changes, that's what I am doing."