Norris Opens Up About Fighting His McLaren: 'It's Not An Easy Car'
F1Friday, 08 December 2023 at 19:00
McLaren Formula One driver Lando Norris revealed how he struggled with adapting to his car during the 2023 season.
Lando Norris is currently considered one of the top drivers on the grid. However, multiple times throughout the season, it seemed like the 24-year-old was a bit over-driving his McLaren.
The Brit was trying to push every single millisecond of a pace out of his car, but he realized he needed to choose a different approach as he shared:
"I've worked quite a bit on trying to still adapt to this car, because it's not an easy car [to drive]. I spent the first part of the season maybe not in the right space and still how I want to drive quickly is the opposite of how this car wants to be driven."
Norris admitted he was used to different driving style previously, but McLaren brought an upgrade that completely changed the concept of their car in order to stay competitive.
"My natural thing of going out and driving qualifying as best as I would want is not how the car needs to be driven, so I still have to change a little bit how I have to drive the car."
Climbing up from the back of the grid to the front of the pack, Norris could all of a sudden fight for podiums in the last three races of the first half of the season.
"That's still been happening this year, but at the halfway point of the season I felt more confident. I feel like I've been getting, especially from a racing perspective, the most out of the car."
The 24-year-old shared he almost never felt satisfied with his qualifying laps. Many times throughout the season, Norris could have qualified first but made a small mistake in the last sector of the track, like in Qatar or Abu Dhabi, for example. He added:
"I've just made a few too many mistakes in qualifying, which I think have been obvious but I defiantly think I've had some of the best races I've ever done."
The number 4 driver recently confidently stated he will get his first win next season with McLaren is he felt the team was so close to achieving victory even in 2023.
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