McLaren’s Lando Norris has billed Mercedes as the favourites to win the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix following the Silver Arrows’ one-two in Vegas.
Mercedes stunned the rest of the field in the cool night-time conditions at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, clean sweeping all three practice sessions, qualifying and the race itself.
Polesitter George Russell converted pole into an assured victory with Lewis Hamilton breezing through the field from 10th to claim second.
Despite McLaren being much-fancied in high-speed corners that comprise much of the Lusail circuit in Qatar, he feels that Mercedes will pick up from where it left off in Sin City.
Norris also tipped McLaren’s Constructors’ Championship rival Ferrari to be in the mix.
“Mercedes were very quick here last year, so they are definitely the favourites coming into this weekend,” Norris said on Thursday.
“It was close, Red Bull were good last year as well – Max [Verstappen] – and we were good as well, so I’m expecting a good battle.
“I’m hoping it favours us a bit more than Ferrari, but Ferrari have fixed a lot of their woes that they were struggling with last year.
“Honestly, no idea but when you look at things Ferrari and Mercedes seem like the guys in a better flow at the minute.”
George Russell has eyes on Qatar GP success with Mercedes
Russell meanwhile, doubled down on his positive mindset coming into the Qatar GP.
After his stunning victory in Vegas, Russell claimed that he’d requested to run an old engine in Nevada to run a fresher power unit in Qatar as he fancied his chances better in the Middle East.
On Thursday, Russell reiterated this opinion, citing the smooth circuit will play into Mercedes’ hands.
“I mean coming into the triple header, this was the one we had our eyes on to be honest,” Russell said.
“To the point that I wanted to put an older engine in for Vegas to have the freshest one possible for this weekend. Obviously Vegas was the outlier.
“I think after a lot of review we have some ideas why it was so good. And I think it’s never just one thing. The smoothness of the tarmac, the coldness.
“It’s no secret when we get the car in that right window, it flies.”
Russell added that while it’s great that Mercedes “flies” amid the right conditions, it’s up to the team to figure out how to perform in all conditions.
“When we go to other circuits where it’s really bumpy, we’ve got to lift the car up, got to make it really soft,” he said.
“That’s not how our car operates. It’s not how all of these cars operate.
“But we clearly lose a lot more than our rivals in those conditions.
“So we just need to work on making a broader downforce window next year.
“Because clearly it’s way too peaky now. And that’s maybe also why we’ve made so many mistakes as well this season. Because you just fall off that cliff.”
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