Norris: I’ve negotiated with Red Bull, but I believe in McLaren

Lando Norris spoke in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport about how the season went for him, about McLaren’s backlog, but also about the negotiations with Red Bull, after which he extended the contract with the team from Woking.

Q: This season the drivers have taken the podium 54 times and on 53 occasions it has been the representatives of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. The only exception was your 3rd place in Imola – does this fact make you happy or sad?
Lando Norris: When I remember this, I always rejoice. Especially when you consider how I achieved this result: thanks to an excellent performance in qualifying, which took place under difficult conditions, and behind the wheel of a car that was fifth or sixth at best.

I feel like I went to the podium as soon as the opportunity arose, that’s how it was this season and the years before. Although I certainly want to do it more often.

Q: It was hoped that McLaren could move up to higher positions with the transition to the new technical rules, but this didn’t happen…
Lando Norris: I didn’t expect to finish in the top three every weekend, but the goal was to close the gap to the top teams. Unfortunately it has only grown. It’s frustrating, but there’s not much I can do about it.

It occurs in sports. Mercedes also did not expect that they would have so many problems in 2022, because they had already won many championships before that. But there is life outside Formula 1, so you just have to learn to enjoy the moment to the fullest. A podium at Imola, 4th place in Singapore – for us these results equate to important victories, because we can’t achieve more.

Q: Are you satisfied with the way the team has responded to difficulties this year?
Lando Norris: I would like to see more progress made. At the beginning of the season we were inferior to many teams, but soon we rose to a more or less normal level. But we are always behind Alpine, they were competitive from the first race. We were a little faster in just two or four races at best.

Sometimes they were 0.5-0.7 seconds faster per lap. I wish we could close this gap. Nevertheless, McLaren is surprisingly battling Alpine for 4th place in the Constructors’ Championship, but this is because we can work more efficiently in other areas: we made better pit stops, we solved tactical problems better and achieved higher reliability of technology.

Q: You have to squeeze the most out of the car or even exceed the capabilities of the MCL36 – is this enough for McLaren to get ahead of Alpine?
Lando Norris: I’m just doing my job and trying to meet the expectations of the team. But I don’t feel like the car is behaving the way I want on the track. It takes some getting used to.

It’s hard to explain exactly what it means. In the way I operate the steering wheel, the way I brake… I don’t just step on the brake pedal and turn the steering wheel. It’s all about the nuances, the right choice of the moment, the speeds at which it happens. The nature of the car’s behavior is constantly changing depending on the turns, which can be slow, medium speed and fast.

In general, I like to go into the corner at high speed: I release the brake pedal and attack at the entrance of the corner. But this year I had to gradually move away from this style. The car was not made for my driving style, I had to adapt to it. I succeeded, but I still cannot call the feeling I experience behind the wheel of the MCL36 natural.

Although I am happy with my results. Even on such a machine I manage to perform well.

Q: What are your requirements for the machine? Charles Leclerc says his Ferrari has a tendency to understeer, although he prefers to oversteer. What do you say?
Lando Norris: I totally agree with him. I also hate cars that have understeer, and now I have to deal with this phenomenon. Usually I increase the angle of attack of the front wing and when adjusting the chassis I try to achieve a balance in such a way that the car fits into the corners more easily.

But sometimes it happens that you are ready to endure understeer to a certain extent, and at the same time oversteer starts to appear. I’ve always liked it when the car corners well, and when the rear of the car starts to slide, I can absorb the consequences.

Q: Do you feel you can control it?
Lando Norris: Yes. I need the car to oversteer. At the same time, I can better control the car’s position in the bend. With understeer the picture is different: it feels like this car is driving me. If understeer starts in the middle of a turn, you have to wait a long time before you can accelerate. Sometimes it feels like an eternity, even if you only lose 0.05 seconds.

Q: Would you like to change that for next season?
Lando Norris: Yes, although it is not that easy. I always share my impressions about the car with the team, they know my preferences. On the other hand, I just want to have the fastest car at my disposal. And if it doesn’t meet my expectations, it’s still normal because it’s the rider’s job to adapt to it.

Q: What do you think is the weak point of the MCL36?
Lando Norris: I won’t say exactly. It generally lacks downforce and efficiency. Look at the Red Bull car: in Monza their RB18 had a very large rear wing – nevertheless we were on par in top speed. At the same time, the wing of our car had turned almost horizontally. In general, we need to increase the pressure a lot and at the same time decrease the resistance.

Q: How would you rate your work this season on a 10-point scale?
Lando Norris: With 8.9 points.

Q: Why 8.9?
Lando Norris: If I give 9 points, it will be too confident. But again, when I had the chance to earn points, I did. If there was a chance to make it to the final of qualifying, I would be in the top ten. With the exception of Barcelona, ​​this is the only time I have made a mistake in qualifying.

My lap was canceled because I exceeded the limits of the track. But earlier in that corner, the track’s limits were never checked. Besides, I got sick then. I didn’t make any other mistakes in the first two qualifying sessions that would put me out of the fight. Is that a few minor mistakes that caused him to lose one or two positions?

Q: Red Bull and Ferrari are about a second ahead of McLaren. It seems that Mercedes is gradually catching up with them. But such a serious backlog is usually irretrievable – are you still not losing your optimism?
Lando Norris: I can’t just answer yes or no. I believe in our team. We have reached the point where we already have a better understanding of what needs to be done, in which direction we need to go, how to achieve our goals. In addition, we understand better why we have not been able to make the progress we hoped for in previous years.

What was the point: the concept behind our car? In her design? In the difficulties associated with working in an old wind tunnel? I hope the answers to all these questions will help us in 2024-2025.

Q: You mentioned the wind tunnel, but the team is also building a new simulator. But all of these tools won’t help McLaren until the team is developing a car for 2024. Team principal Andreas Seidl has already said 2024 should be the “year of truth” for McLaren…
Lando Norris: I totally agree. This will be the first year we have no more excuses. Trust me, no one is saying that on some weekend we did everything in our power but lost to rivals for the reasons just discussed.

The team always tries to understand how to achieve better results. 2024 will be the first year that McLaren’s infrastructure will nearly match the level of the top teams. The rest is up to us, the people who work in Woking.

Q: Are you a patient enough person?
Lando Norris: Not at all. But I had to learn it. First of all in relation to Formula 1. In other areas I remain an impatient person. I always want to achieve certain results, preferably in the coming weekend. However, this is not such a quick process. We have to bear in mind that it will take another year or two.

Q: However, do you think you made the right choice by staying with McLaren?
Lando Norris: I am happy with my choice, I feel very comfortable at McLaren. I like to work with people I believe in. If I didn’t believe in the team, I wouldn’t sign a long-term contract. But I look to the future, I understand that we have to keep working. The best opportunities for me to achieve high results are in 2024 and 2025.

Q: They say you negotiated with Red Bull before renewing the contract with McLaren?
Lando Norris: Of course, you negotiate with certain people from time to time. You always wonder: what suits your career best? Anyway, I want to win, I want to win championships. There were indeed negotiations with Red Bull, but nevertheless I felt McLaren was better suited to achieve my goals. It shows how strong my confidence is in our team.