McLaren qualifying speed papering over cracks - Norris
McLaren qualifying speed papering over cracks - Norris
Lando Norris has suggested McLaren's qualifying pace has hidden a lot of the MCL36's deficiencies this season after falling back during the French Grand Prix.
The British driver qualified a magnificent fifth to split Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the Paul Ricard Circuit.
But in the race, a poor start cost Norris instantly as Russell and Fernando Alonso stormed past on the run to turn one and the 22-year-old Briton was never able to get back ahead of the Alpine.
Addressing his start, Norris said: "I had a bit of wheelspin but I don't think it changed our race in any way. Fernando would still have passed me.
"I think we achieved everything we could have done, frustrating because after qualifying our hopes were pushed up a little bit.
"I think it was more because we did a very, very good lap and to be in the middle of the two Mercedes, they showed they can almost race for a win.
"It shows there are differences between people's pace in quali and races and for whatever reason, we maybe show a bit more pace in quali - the new tyres and low fuel hides a lot of our issues and problems.
"As soon as we get into high fuel, old tyres, all those issues are exposed, and we're just quite slow."
McLaren would have been "even slower" without upgrades
The Woking-based team introduced a raft of updates to the MCL36 in an attempt to solidify its claims for fourth in the constructors' standings but ended up falling behind Alpine, who also saw Esteban Ocon score at his home race.
Put to Norris that his suggestion of improved qualifying pace would help at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix where overtaking is difficult, he replied: "Yeah, it's true, for certain tracks.
"But a lot of tracks, you still want a good race car, you need a good package - one that's good in qualifying and good in a race.
"Even though I was ahead of George in qualifying, he still finished on the podium. You probably still prefer a good race car over a quali car throughout the season, and that's just not what we have at the moment.
"We'll still look into the updates and upgrades and see what we did.
"The positive is we would have been even slower and in a worse position in qualifying if we didn't have the updates."
Claiming McLaren had made fewer mistakes than Alpine over the first 12 races, Norris said: "There are a lot of positives and we move forward, just Alpine are much quicker than us, and they have been all season.
"They've just made a lot more mistakes all season and we've done a very good job with a lot of things to be ahead.
"Now, being behind them is more realistic and where we deserve to be with the car we have."
Additional reporting by Ian Parkes
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 star hits back at Sky pundit with 'boring old man' jibe
- 41 minutes ago
F1 champion DOUBTS passion of new fans
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Horner and Red Bull saga to reignite as F1 legend OFFENDED by official statement
- 3 hours ago
EXCLUSIVE: Norris and Piastri 'just like what you see on social media'
- Today 13:57
Hamilton form raises Ferrari F1 move fears
- Today 12:57
F1 legend OFFENDED by F1's rejection of Andretti's bid
- Today 11:57
Related news
F1 driver hails 'INCREDIBLE' race return opportunity as track options assessed
French president gives HUGE update on historic F1 race
Rumours BUILD over French GP return to F1 calendar
F1 masterplan to secure ICONIC track's return takes tantalising new twist
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860