After dominating the field at the Singapore GP, Lando Norris failed to match Max Verstappen in Saturday’s COTA Sprint Race. Red Bull’s floor upgrade has delivered a clear step forward, eliminating the advantage that McLaren enjoyed heading into this weekend. However, Norris believes McLaren’s advantage has been overstated in F1 circles.
Lando Norris: McLaren pace has been exaggerated
Generally speaking, the consensus is that McLaren have been the fastest team in F1 this year. Since their Miami update package, the MCL38 has excelled in both qualifying and race trim.
Perhaps most critically (unlike Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes), the Woking-based squad are capable of winning races at any type of circuit layout.
McLaren have dominated at circuits well-suited to their car, and consistently fight for victories at tracks where Ferrari and Mercedes have managed to steal victories.
Inevitably, with Norris and Verstappen fighting for the Championship, there will be plenty of comparisons between the two. This is especially true given that driver error has played a significant role in this season’s campaign.
In the eyes of many, Lando Norris and McLaren have thrown away several opportunities to seize the initiative in the Championship.
A different verdict on McLaren’s performance advantage
However, the British driver believes McLaren’s performance advantage has been overstated:
“Yeah, we’re a bit slower than the past weekends – just because the others are quicker,” he told the media after the COTA Sprint.
“Everyone thinks we’ve had easily the quickest car for months now, that’s not the case at all.
“We’ve just come to a race that suits their cars a bit more than us, and we’re slowest of the four [top teams].
“It’s just the way it is, I don’t think it’s something to worry about. It’s just Formula 1, we’ll work hard to improve.”
From an objective standpoint, it seems difficult to argue that McLaren haven’t enjoyed the fastest car this season.
There are several races this season (Monza, Canada, Silverstone, Spain, Austria) where Andrea Stella’s team failed to capitalise on having the fastest package.
A combination of factors have contributed to these dropped points. Regardless of what has been the team’s biggest weakness, it certainly cannot the RB20 has been fastest car this year.
Max Verstappen hasn’t claimed a race win since the Spanish GP in June – clear evidence that Christian Horner’s team have been at McLaren’s mercy for much of the season.
Moving forward, Norris will look to capitalise on any chance to convert Pole to victory in COTA. If Verstappen can win on Sunday and extend Championship lead, it would be a massive blow to Norris’ title hopes.
Ultimately, there are still plenty of points up for grabs. One retirement for the contenders could turn this year’s title race upside down.
There are also more upgrades arriving to the MCL38 in the coming weeks. The British outfit no longer have the luxury of being cautious with their updates.
With that said, McLaren have wasted a 12-race window where they should have scored significantly more points. Only time will tell if Lando Norris can close the gap to Verstappen in the final races of the season.
