Lando Norris has concluded that McLaren is “all over the place” in terms of its balance over one lap after first and second practice for Formula 1‘s Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Brit was fourth-fastest in FP2 at the Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit, two tenths down on Max Verstappen, who topped the session.
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri was further off the pace, finishing down in 12th, and over eight tenths adrift of the Dutchman’s time.
The Australian was fourth in first practice, which Norris sat out due to his place being taken by home favourite and McLaren IndyCar hero Pato O’Ward.
Speaking after FP2, Norris was positive about the car being somewhat close to full potential, but was concerned that he “found the limit quite quickly”.
“I think we’re in a reasonable place, for sure. I feel like I got up to speed very quickly, actually, I was quite surprised,” he said.
“My first lap was pretty good, and the second lap was a good step. So, yes, I felt like I found the limit quickly, but that is just holding us back a bit.
“Not that it was a bad day, but normally we’re very good on a Friday, and then everyone catches up on Saturday.
“We’re already a little bit behind, so we definitely have some work to do tonight.
“The balance of the car is just a bit all over the place, the same as the last few weeks, just single lap stuff.
“We’re struggling at the moment, so yes, we’re working hard. We’re trying everything we can, so we’ll see what we can do and see what we can find.”
Piastri believes Mexico GP will ‘be tight’ but winnable for McLaren
Piastri’s final position was, on paper, a concern for McLaren, but the Australian was experimenting on Softs, and did not appear too bothered.
“It was OK,” he said of his FP2. “The lap on the softs on low fuel was pretty average, so I’m not surprised with the lap time.
“Tried a lot of things, we’ll go through and have a look at what worked, what didn’t, but overall I felt reasonable.
“We’ll see what we can tune up for tomorrow, and try to make things just a bit more consistent is the biggest thing.”
Piastri said that the problems that arose with the MCL39 in Austin appear to have been somewhat eradicated, and believes that the car is in a reasonable position to challenge.
“There were a few things we identified from Austin. Obviously, it was a pretty messy weekend as well,” he said.
“Plenty of things that we found, all small things, but when you put them all together, they add up. I think we’ve got a good handle on last week.
“I think so. It’s going to be tight, like always, but I think we have a good car underneath us.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen takes top spot in FP2 for F1 Mexico GP
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