Lando Norris has stated that McLaren is a long way off rivals Red Bull and Ferrari but Zak Brown is more optimistic over its pace ahead of the new season.
McLaren’s Team Principal, Zak Brown, is optimistic about McLaren’s performance for the upcoming season after a promising showing at pre-season testing in Bahrain.
After a challenging start to last season, where McLaren struggled to keep up with the competition, the team is now anticipated to begin the new campaign in a stronger and more competitive position.
Thanks to successful developments made during the previous season, McLaren was able to improve its car’s performance and consistently challenge for podium finishes in the latter half of the year.
Lando Norris, embarking on his sixth season in F1 with the Woking-based team, has indicated that the MCL38 is currently lagging behind Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of pace.
On the other hand, Brown expressed a more positive outlook on the car’s performance after the Bahrain testing concluded.
“It was definitely an improvement compared to last year’s testing,” Brown stated. “We gained valuable insights into the car. While we encountered some challenges along the way, I believe this was a common experience for all teams in the pit lane.
“This is the purpose of testing – to identify and address any potential weaknesses.”
We seem to have a strong performance in terms of one-lap speed and race pace. I’m always uncertain about what the rest of the competitors were doing.
There is a general feeling that we are quite competitive, and it seems like we are close to where we ended up last year, which was our goal for this year.
We are optimistic that the advancements we have made will keep proving effective, and I have no doubt they will.
Victory on the agenda
McLaren concluded the previous season by securing the fourth position in the Constructors’ Championship. Norris achieved an impressive feat by securing seven podium finishes, while rookie Oscar Piastri managed to secure two podium finishes.
This outcome marked a significant improvement in their performance, and Brown, the team’s leader, has expressed his confidence in their ability to maintain this development pace and compete for a race victory.
“We are witnessing positive progress in our development efforts,” stated Brown.
He further added, “I believe that if we can sustain this development pace and seize the opportunity when other teams falter, we have the potential to convert some of our six second-place finishes and nine podiums from last year into race victories. This is undoubtedly our ambition.”
We will introduce new components in every race, including notable upgrades such as wings, floors, and bodywork, just like we did last year.
There is no apparent obstacle for the development curve to maintain its current trajectory. The test went well, and we are eagerly anticipating the upcoming race weekend.
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