Lando Norris finished in second place behind Max Verstappen in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from McLaren acknowledged that the team is striving for perfection in their quest to defeat Red Bull and Max Verstappen in the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The Woking-based team has emerged as the main competitor to Red Bull this season after implementing upgrades in Miami, which propelled Norris to his first victory.
Although a McLaren driver has achieved podium finishes in the five races following that historic win, neither Norris nor Piastri have been able to replicate that success in the United States.
McLaren missed an opportunity to win in Canada due to an unfortunate decision in the pits during a Safety Car period, while Norris expressed disappointment at losing positions early in the race in Spain, finishing in second place.
Despite starting on pole position last weekend, Norris trailed behind George Russell and Verstappen, and this proved decisive as he finished 2.2 seconds behind the Red Bull.
The British driver criticized his performance, believing he wasted a victory with the “fastest car,” but has since acknowledged that he was too hard on himself considering the extremely narrow margins.
When asked how he can find the remaining one percent to surpass Verstappen, Norris replied, “I don’t think there’s a simple answer to that.”
“Even my start, it wasn’t a bad start. It was just a few meters and not a perfect start.”
“At the time, maybe I was too critical in saying that I had a bad start. I didn’t have a bad start.”
“And even if my start was decent, I think George would still have overtaken me, and if I wasn’t there, you would question Max because he was also overtaken by George.”
“You know, it wasn’t just me. George wasn’t the determining factor for winning or losing. It was Max. And it was the fact that Max was overtaken.
“So, usually my starts have been very good and consistent, among the best. But I want to be the absolute best.
“So, in every little aspect, there are these little things, a little more preparation or more practice on Fridays or Saturdays, and perfecting those things. But my starts weren’t bad. It’s just that Max had a slightly better one, and that little difference had the biggest impact on the final positions.”
“So, to be honest, I believe I may have been overly critical. If we were to repeat the race, the result could easily be different.
“And it’s not just one aspect, you know. There are countless points during a race where things can go wrong. I don’t think we need to overreact in any way.
“As I mentioned before, and after reviewing everything, I am very satisfied with how things unfolded. As soon as we got through Turn 1, and even the reaction at Turn 1, I made a smart decision not to try to overtake Max on the outside. That would have caused an accident and taken George out of the race. So I think I made the right move.
“After Turn 2, everything went well.
“Even our strategy, despite the criticism we received, was well thought out. The critics don’t understand what they’re talking about.
“So, overall, I’m very happy, probably about 99.5% satisfied. It was just a small mistake at the start that cost me last weekend.
“But at the same time, if the distance to Turn 1 was shorter, it wouldn’t make a difference, you know.”
Meanwhile, Piastri emphasizes that McLaren has always recognized the challenge of surpassing an established team like Red Bull throughout the season.
“I don’t think we underestimated their operational strength,” said the Australian. “Their pit stops have always been the best in the paddock.
“We hold the world record, but they have consistently been incredibly strong in this aspect. They have also excelled in strategy.
“So we knew that even if we had a car as fast as theirs, it would be difficult to beat them. And that is proving true.
“So maybe some people underestimated their overall strength. But we certainly didn’t.”
© 2024
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