Norris Names One Race He Is 'Not Looking Forward' To In 2024

Sunday, 31 March 2024 at 15:00

norris lando mclaren imagocarneiroimages

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris revealed which Grand Prix race in the 2024 season he is not looking forward to.

At the end of the 2023 season, McLaren was considered to be the second or third-fastest team, depending on the circuit and the race conditions.

On the one hand, there were races like the Japanese, Qatar, or Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where the Payapya team was clearly the second fastest. On the other hand, there were races like Singapore, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi, where Ferrari had the upper hand.

Norris insisted in an interview following the 2024 Australian Grand Prix that he didn't see McLaren as the second-fastest team last season. As quoted by motorsport.com, he said:

"There's still plenty of races at the end of last year that we were not even close to being the second fastest team. In Abu Dhabi, we were not even close to being second fastest team, or third fastest team, or even fourth."

Read also

Verstappen Confirms Uncertainty Around His Exit In Red Bull Is Over

While he admitted that Scuderia made the biggest step from last year of all ten teams, the 24-year-old made this comparison to say that he doesn't feel like McLaren was "jumped" by Ferrari.

"So I would never say yeah, we were the second fastest, and now Ferrari have jumped us or anything like this."

It was a bit overshadowed by the incredible story of Ferrari and Carlos Sainz, who won the season's third race just two weeks after undergoing surgery. However, McLaren was pretty close to the team from Maranello throughout the whole race.

This gives McLaren confidence going into tracks they know should suit them, like Suzuka Circuit next weekend, but Norris also expects there will be tracks that will expose his car's weaknesses, like Zandvoort.

The Briton suggested he does not look forward to the Circuit Zandvoort, which F1 will visit during round 15 of the 2024 season for the Dutch Grand Prix. He added:

"I want to believe that we maybe have a slightly better all-round package, but I don't think we've visited some tracks yet where we've seen as many weaknesses, like Zandvoort, for example – not looking forward to it! And a couple of tracks that really show where the car is weak."