'I was P1 for a long time': Lando Norris happy with how the Baku upgrades are working at the 2023 F1 Miami GP

Lando Norris stated that he was satisfied with the performance of the MCL23 in the 2023 F1 Miami GP practice sessions on Friday. He and McLaren have been struggling in the 2023 F1 season so far. The Woking based team have taken a step back in terms of performance coming into the year and are gradually developing their car to return to the front of the midfield table.

Speaking to the media, Lando Norris started off by recalling how he was P1 in a practice session for quite some time. He said that he was quite happy with the performance gains overall. Norris explained how the team's plan for the practice was successfully executed. The 23-year-old tested the soft and medium tires, while his teammate, Oscar Piastri, drove on the hard tires. Norris said:

"I mean, I was P1 for a long time, so my hopes were high for a little bit! I think it was a good day, a positive day, a clean amount of running. I think we had a good plan from the beginning, and we stuck to it so I'm happy with that. Learn a lot about the tires—softs and mediums—and Oscar with the hards. So yeah, I think today we definitely seem a little bit better than we were maybe expecting."

Furthermore, Norris explained how the upgrades McLaren brought to the Azerbaijan GP are also helping the team in Miami. Finally, he reminded everyone that it was only a practice session and that they needed to focus on improving in qualifying and the main race. He concluded:

"I think the upgrades that we had in Baku have provided a little bit more help for us here which is also a good thing. But it's just a Friday, so we'll take it one step at a time not get ahead of ourselves for tomorrow."

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Lando Norris determined to close the gap to the front of the table

Even though McLaren has faced a lot of issues in the 2023 F1 season, Lando Norris is confident and determined to win and close the gap to the front of the field. However, he is patient enough to do it with the British team, as he knows how massive the deficit is. He said:

“No. Because it doesn’t matter where we are, we just want to win. So we understand we are one-and-a-half seconds off in terms of pace to the top. It doesn’t matter whether we are fourth and one-and-a-half seconds off or 20th and one-and-a-half seconds off. I guess maybe it makes a small difference, but we try and beat everyone we can and we do the most we can.”

It is safe to say that McLaren could take an entire year or more to come anywhere near teams like Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull. However, it is evident that the young Briton is focused and committed to pushing his team in the right direction.