Lando Norris believes McLaren are “not many miles away” from Red Bull and Max Verstappen going into the 2024 campaign, after claiming back-to-back second places in the last two races.
Team principal Andrea Stella admits the prospect of McLaren competing with Red Bull is “still a step too far”, although driver Lando Norris insists the team is “not far away” ahead of next season.
Red Bull claimed Constructors’ glory at the Japanese Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen needed just three points to win his third consecutive F1 world championship. And although Norris is currently seventh in the drivers’ standings, he has scored back-to-back second-place finishes in the last two races in Japan and Singapore.
With McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri joining him on the podium in Japan, Norris remains optimistic about the team’s future ahead of the 2024 season. Speaking on team radio after crossing the line On arrival Japan, Norris said:
“Incredible work all weekend. Double podium! There were two of us up there. Come. We came for Red Bull. Let’s keep working!”
And when asked for his comments after the race, he added:
“We’re not miles away. We beat one of them, but not the fastest. “To get to where we are now, I don’t think any of us expected that or even thought about that at the beginning of the year. So we’re definitely going to get to where we are now, we won got the podium and my double. .
“But we know we still have a lot of things we can improve and we will improve and in such a short time since the start of the year we’ve been able to turn things around in a big way and start reduced head.” gap compared to other teams compared to all other Red Bull teams.
“So I think that’s a good sign and it’s just been a year of great progress and we know there’s more to come. So I’m very excited for the future.”
However, Stella was quick to downplay Norris’s comments, saying that currently there are only “a few tracks where we can compete” with Red Bull. When asked how far he thought McLaren was from Red Bull, Stella replied:
“One more step too far.
“But to be honest, it now seems like Max has gone too far. There are still some changes to the remaining tracks in the season, but none of them have a Singaporean character.”
“While there may be some tracks where we could compete – I think Qatar would be a suitable track for us – I’m afraid the features we like are the same features that Red Bull will be simply exceptional. So we’re going to have to be realistic and know that we’re going to need certain situations to happen to be able to take the final step.”
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