Lando Norris reckons McLaren is seeking “small tweaks” overnight on the car to build upon a “good position” from practice at Formula 1’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Norris backed up his breakthrough maiden F1 win from Miami at the previous round with a competitive show of pace on the opening day’s running at the Imola venue.
McLaren endured a suboptimal first practice session as it ran tests to assess its Miami upgrades, with Norris also encountering a minor setback when his car cut out.
However, McLaren improved come the second practice hour and Norris appeared destined to rise to the top of the times when he went fastest in the first two sectors.
However, dipping a wheel into the gravel at the last corner saw Norris abandon his lap and place 12th in the order, one second behind the pacesetting Charles Leclerc.
But Norris is optimistic that the set-up alterations that he made between the two sessions have given him and McLaren a positive platform to work from this weekend.
“I think on the whole, a pretty reasonable day,” Norris assessed. “A little bit of a messy FP1, we had the rakes on the car, so we were doing some aero testing.
“Then we had a couple of issues with the car after that, so not the most clean, straightforward day.
“But I think we made a really good step from FP1 into FP2. And once I got comfortable, yeah, I felt pretty good out there. So I think we’re in a good position.
“Tricky, it was quite gusty, and obviously it calmed down a little bit. But on the whole, a positive day and a good start to the weekend.”
McLaren introduced a comprehensive upgrade package in Miami, with rivals Ferrari and Red Bull opting to respond with their developments at this weekend’s round.
Norris conceded that the Woking-based squad has been unable to gain a true grasp on where it stands in comparison, while also noting Mercedes’ impressive pace.
Asked what he needed to do to extract further pace, Norris replied: “Right now, I’m not sure. I think we kind of have to look at the data and compare ourselves to others.
“Compare ourselves to Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, who seem also pretty quick. And just trying to understand a little bit where we stand relative to them.
“But just pretty little bits here and there. I think we seem relatively quick. I didn’t get my lap in at the end, but yeah, I think we’re in a good position.
“I don’t think we need to change too much. It’s just small little tweaks and bringing it all together. Simple as that.”
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