Lando Norris has revealed the effort required by McLaren to beat the reigning champions, Mercedes and Ferrari, following the Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Norris and McLaren enjoyed a more competitive showing at Barcelona than in recent races, the Briton qualifying in fourth for the race.
After lights out, he kept a watching eye over the battling Mercedes and the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in front, but was unable to launch a sustained challenge.
However, he received an unexpected injection of good luck in the closing stages, when Kimi Antonelli retired, promoting the Briton to third.
In the post race press conference, Norris reflected on what he called a “tough afternoon”.
“Yeah, tough race,” he said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“I did my best to keep up with these guys, but they were too quick. So we stayed there and gave ourselves a chance if anything happened, and we obviously got a bit lucky with Antonelli going out.
“But otherwise, I’m very happy. Very happy for the team, very happy to be back on the podium. So, a good day for us.”
What do Lando Norris and McLaren need to beat Ferrari?
Norris is under no illusions of the scale of the challenge facing McLaren to beat Mercedes and Ferrari, as the latter looked to have jumped them in the development race.
“Ah, just a little bit of everything at the minute,” he said on what was needed to beat F1’s current benchmark teams.
“We’re doing a good job as a team, and I think we’re making good progress, but these guys are just doing a better job. So, we have to give credit to them and admit to ourselves that we’ve got to keep working hard and keep putting in the effort.
“But the whole team is doing that, so I’m very happy with them. We just have to keep our heads down and keep working, and we’ll get there soon.”
Norris currently lies 83 points adrift of championship leader Antonelli in the title fight. Barcelona indicated that although the team is making progress, it is still a long way off the pace required to win.
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