Lando Norris and McLaren enter the second half of the Formula 1 season nipping at Red Bull’s heels in the Constructors’ Championship. The Woking-based team trails Red Bull by just 42 points in the standings, making it mathematically possible — if unlikely — that they could close that gap with a good performance at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
However, the team has faced some criticism in recent weeks, with some arguing that they could be even closer to Red Bull, if not in the lead outright, had some different decisions been made at various races. While the handling of the Hungarian Grand Prix may be first and foremost on the minds of many, other strategic calls this season have not played out to perfection for McLaren.
Speaking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Norris pushed back on the idea that McLaren does not know how to fight at the front.
“They’re all wrong,” said Norris to the official F1 channel when asked if the team does not know how to fight up front anymore.
“The team are doing an amazing job. From where we were last year to where we are now, is one point. But of course, where we are now and performing against the rest of the teams is also another point,” continued Norris. “And obviously, and clearly, we’ve not done the best job, and there’s been things we’ve needed to do better on. But we know that. We don’t need everyone else to say that on the outside. And so [I’m] very happy with how the team have been performing.”
Norris’ point about how far the team has come should not be ignored. After all, early in the 2023 season they were simply fighting for points, as they struggled to get a handle on the MCL60, their 2023 challenger. As the year went on they began to improve, fighting for podiums at the end of the year.
Now they are fighting for wins.
“I think the main thing was to not forget how good of a first half of the season has been, but there’s just been a few too many little things which have let myself down and let us down as a team,” continued Norris. “And when we’re fighting for a championship you can’t afford to make those little mistakes. So, from my side, just trying to iron some of those things out is the main point.”
Norris outlined the challenges that he and McLaren face over the final ten races of the season.
“We’re not just fighting against Max [Verstappen], we’re fighting against Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes. And there’s eight cars who are all fighting to try and win, and to get the good points. So I don’t think we’re expecting [it] to be any easier now. If anything, we expect it still to be more difficult through the season.”
As the summer shutdown began. Norris and company made it clear that catching Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship was the goal.
The McLaren driver reiterated that on Thursday in Zandvoort.
“I think we’ve still been outperforming and done a better job than majority of other teams,” said Norris. “But we also know that we’re not the happiest with outperforming the majority, we want to outperform everyone.”
They will get their first crack at outperforming everyone tomorrow as practice gets underway for the Dutch Grand Prix.
