Will McLaren still win in '23? 'Missed our best chance'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
McLaren's advance continues. Although Oscar Piastri retired early at the US Grand Prix on Sunday, Lando Norris finished (after Lewis Hamilton's disqualification) in a handsome second place. As a result, the British team passed Aston Martin in the constructors' standings. Perhaps even overtaking third-placed Ferrari (80 points more).
"That's what we're looking at," Lando Norris said of Ferrari. "It's our target. I feel like we're in good rhythm. It's been clear that Aston, are just... I don't know. They seem to have made the car slower and slower with every upgrade that they brought. I mean, they [Red Bull] were racing Aston at the beginning of the year, and I don't know where they finished today, but they were out in Q1 and they've been struggling."
McLaren reverses roles with Aston Martin
Norris now sees the reverse world: McLaren is battling at the front, where Aston Martin is hobbling along. "When you look at where we are now, fighting against a Red Bull, who was an unrealistic target for almost anyone, and fighting against a Mercedes. As much as we are disappointed that we couldn't go for a race win, when you put it in perspective of where we were and how much we've improved, I think it's still an amazing day for us."
Still, it was another second-place finish. Norris has done 100 Grands Prix for McLaren. He has never won. Whether that will change this season is highly questionable. "Do I think our best chances have gone? I would say yes. I think Qatar was our best chance of winning a race. And I missed out on that one. So I don't want to say no. I don't want to say like never."
"I think there are no [tracks with] super high speeds, Suzuka style circuits left, Qatar style circuits left, which is where we're strong. And like I said, if you look at the GPS and the overlays of how bad we are in the slow speed, I'm not looking forward to Brazil. I think we're going to be pretty shocking there. So honestly, Abu Dhabi, we'd like to finish on a high.'
Verstappen counters Norris
Max Verstappen, however, believes Norris is always fast in Abu Dhabi. "Yes, okay. Not the car," Norris responded. "Maybe Abu Dhabi, you never know. We'll see. I don't think there are any good ones for us coming up. I think our best have kind of gone. I'm not. But yes, I still want to be hopeful that we can do good results and I think we can still fight for podiums."