'Not Any Time Soon': Norris Responds To His Team Principal's Confident Statement
F1Friday, 19 April 2024 at 00:30
Lando Norris replied to his team principal's confident statement during an interview ahead of the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Papaya F1 driver comes to the fifth round of the 2024 season at Shanghai International Circuit, standing fifth in the Championship with quite a gap to the top four drivers.
His teammate Oscar Piastri is in P6, five points behind. This also precisely reflects their team's current competitive situation.
After the first four rounds of the season, it is safe to say McLaren is the third fastest car on the grid. However, that could change with the introduction of major updates either in Miami or Imola.
The team principal of the British team, Andrea Stella, even told the F1 Nation podcast that his team could "think about winning races this year" if they could replicate the rate of development from last year. Approached with the statement of his boss, Norris told the media in China:
"Not any time soon – that's for sure! I think we can [win with the] right place, right time – if we improve the car how we need too."
While the 24-year-old doesn't see McLaren beating the top two teams any time soon, he suggests Stella might be correct if the team can improve in areas with which they have struggled for a long time.
"We know the issues, we know what we have to improve and if we can improve them, I think Andrea is right – we can win races this year and we can be competitive with these other two teams ahead of us."
"But that's an 'if' and you have to work hard to improve the car in some of these certain areas, which have been a big challenge for us over the last many years, not just the last few years. But, if we can, then I'm confident we can have some good races."
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