The numbers behind Lando Norris’ “pretty insane” claim about McLaren’s F1 development
Whereas Lando Norris thought his Formula 1 title dream had gone up in smoke at Zandvoort last year – resulting in some iconic images in the dunes – this year he won the final edition of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Even more important than bouncing back from last year’s DNF is the fact that Norris now has momentum firmly on his side. His victory at Zandvoort, following an earlier triumph in Budapest, marked a second consecutive win for the reigning world champion.
Norris has reduced his deficit in the championship standings to 83 points, while Max Verstappen was 104 points behind then-championship leader Oscar Piastri after Zandvoort last year.
The Dutchman ultimately fell just two points short of the title, making it understandable that Norris immediately said over the radio: “The fight is still on.”
Norris’ victories underline the enormous progress McLaren has made in recent months. In the past few years, the Woking-based team has already led the way in terms of development, and that trend appears to be continuing under the new rule set.
“I think we’ve easily done the best job when you look at everything from where we were last year,” Norris said after claiming his 13th F1 victory at Zandvoort.
“We were always going to start behind this season because of how much we focused on last year. It was inevitable that we were not going to start on the pace this season.
“But for us to catch up, you know, we’ve outdeveloped them. You’re saying on a track like this, almost a second of development from us as McLaren versus our competitors. So that’s pretty insane, and I think that’s the reason why we’ve also come on pretty strong.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Comparing the pure race pace – as calculated by data partner Paceteq – with the situation in Melbourne leads to the same conclusion as Norris. At the season opener in Australia, McLaren was on average no less than 1.34 seconds per lap slower than Mercedes’ works team.
The picture fluctuated after that. Neither McLaren was able to start in China, after which Piastri in particular was surprisingly quick in Japan.
The first major upgrade package of the year arrived in Miami, after which McLaren’s deficit has only exceeded one second per lap in Canada (1.10s) and Monaco (1.67s).
According to Norris, those deficits were down to McLaren being “shockingly bad” in slow-speed corners.
Zandvoort dominance also down to Norris’ own progress
After Norris’ victory at Zandvoort, Mercedes was quick to suggest that McLaren is now the team to beat in F1.
Kimi Antonelli said after the race that Mercedes no longer has the fastest car, while Toto Wolff added that there is not an enormous amount of room left for upgrades under the budget cap either.
Norris, however, does not agree about who’s quickest. “Well, they’re not going to say themselves, are they?” the reigning world champion smiled.
“So, yeah, they’re not going to say themselves. They’re [still] the team to beat even if they just got beaten today, so I don’t think it’s true.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
According to Norris, he himself deserves some credit for the victory at Zandvoort as well, for example for his decisive overtakes on Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton.
“I think if I didn’t get Kimi when I overtook him, I don’t think I would have won the race today. You know, it’s hard to say, but I also know how good of a job I’m doing behind the wheel.
“And of course I’m never one to overtalk about myself, normally always the complete opposite. But for once I would give myself a little bit of credit that I feel like I’m doing a better job than everyone, and I think that can also make a difference.”
The combination of his own form and McLaren’s development trajectory means Norris has not completely put the prospect of defending his title out of his mind, although he knows more is still needed.
“I’m still [more than] 80 points behind, so I wouldn’t say it’s that close. But I do think it’s close,” he insisted.
“It’s relatively close for a new regulation, that’s for sure. It’s definitely closer than what previous years have been with new regulations.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
