During the recent Formula 1 event at Zandvoort, Lando Norris expressed his concerns about his team’s performance, McLaren, in the sprint race. He noted that deficiencies in low speed left them “far from being good enough” to fight for victory.
With the arrival at the coastal track, McLaren had introduced a new upgrade package focused on the rear of the car, including a new rear wing, which was expected to improve performance after a good result in Hungary.
The early signs showed that the updates were working, with McLaren competing for pole position during Friday’s qualifying. However, during Saturday’s race, Norris quickly found himself on the defensive against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had opted for soft tires while he was on mediums. Interestingly, Leclerc maintained his advantage on the soft tires and managed to overtake Norris on lap 18.
McLaren’s tire management proved to be inferior, which is raising concerns within the team. Andrea Stella, the team principal, commented: “We must acknowledge that our race performance is poorer than in qualifying due to tire degradation and weak low-speed performance.”
Norris admitted to feeling frustrated at not being able to match the pace of rivals like Russell and Leclerc, stating that it was difficult to compete in the slow corners. “The car is very competitive at high speed, but not great at low speed,” he noted.
Additionally, Oscar Piastri shared his surprise at the lack of competitiveness throughout the race, visibly disappointed with his vehicle’s performance. “We were expecting to improve, especially with our fastest lap times from Friday,” Piastri concluded.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
