Lando Norris thinks McLaren can take a schedule surprise and turn it into a chance to speed up upgrades and improve the MCL40.
Rough start and a strange stat
After two races of a 22-round season, McLaren drivers have recorded only one race start between them, that being Norris in Australia. Norris did not start in China, and team-mate Oscar Piastri became the first driver in Formula 1 history to be listed as Did Not Start in both of the opening two rounds of a season.
Where the car stands
The MCL40 has shown it is not the class leader so far. It has been the third-fastest package, trailing the leading Mercedes and Ferrari machines but running ahead of Red Bull's RB22. That puts McLaren in a tricky middle ground where small gains matter a lot.
An unexpected window
The cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix have created an enforced April break. That gap, between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 and the Miami race on May 3, gives McLaren a longer run of development time than originally planned. Norris hopes the team can use that window to accelerate planned upgrades and get the car closer to where it should be.
On the team's work and outlook
"We understand that the car is not to the level that it needs to be to fight for a podium or even a win at the time being, so we know that we have a lot of work ahead," Norris told the media, including RacingNews365. "Disregarding the issues that we had, the team knows where we stand, and we're very realistic about everything, so they're working hard, as they have been the whole season, but especially now, they know what direction we need to work to get back to what we think we can achieve."
Norris added that every season is different and there are no guarantees, but he has faith the team can turn the situation around. He welcomed the longer break as a practical opportunity to develop parts and possibly put them on the car sooner than planned.
"So, as much as it is not the start of the year that we want, I have a lot of confidence in the team that we can improve things, and we can fight for podiums at some point this year, and that we can fight for wins maybe later in the season. I want to believe that."
He finished by noting that both drivers would prefer fewer reliability issues and a better-performing car, and that McLaren now face the familiar task of closing a gap to the leaders over the course of a long season.
