For Lando Norris, the fight for the constructors’ title this year is certainly not over yet. The reigning world champion experienced a rare double retirement together with his teammate during the Chinese GP, but according to Norris, McLaren has faced a bigger gap to the top teams before. ‘I think we can have the best car this year’, the McLaren driver even states.
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It was a painful weekend for McLaren in Shanghai: both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – due to various power unit issues – could not start the Chinese GP. Yet Norris still describes his team as ‘the third team at the moment’. The Brit finished behind the two Mercedes and Ferrari cars during the opening race in Melbourne.
“Ferrari and Mercedes are performing very well at the moment. I know that hard work is being done in the factory and progress is being made. It takes time to improve, but it’s not as if we’re doing badly”, Norris said at the press conference ahead of the Japanese GP. According to the McLaren driver, the chance of a third consecutive constructors’ title for his team is certainly not ruled out. “I think we had more than 150 points deficit to Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari in 2024. Then we managed to come back and win the title. Now we also have some deficit, but we’re not too worried about that yet. We first focus on achieving podium finishes and then on winning races. The points will come naturally.”
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‘Can have the best car again’
The reigning world champion is in any case going into the rest of the season with full confidence. “We won the last two constructors’ titles and the drivers’ title because we were able to build the best car on the grid”, Norris continues. “I’m confident that we can do that again this year. I think we can have the best car. It just takes time. You have to be patient.”
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