Lando Norris is keen to receive feedback from Fernando on something critical

Not before 2019 will Lando Norris be behind the wheel of an F1 car in a Grand Prix. As all eyes will keenly await the maiden race of the next season, the season-opener at Melbourne, home to the Australian Grand Prix, the drivers will be more keen to get a major factor fixed, up first.

And what's that?

It's the car they will be teaming up with.

That's the most important component of F1 racing and the ultimate factor that separates victory from defeat in motor-racing.

While most experienced drivers suffer from the issues with their car, often only to see their fortunes change from bad to worse, one has got to admit what might become of the younger drivers?

Senna wasn't a happy man in his final year of racing at Williams. We saw what Alonso and Raikkonen had to deal with in 2014's Ferrari. We also saw the woes of Daniel Ricciardo in the just-concluded season with Red Bull.

Overall, the plight of promising drivers, those with race wins under their belt only get magnified when their rivals are peaking with great form.

Even as Sebastian Vettel had to his disposal a strong and superior SF 70H when compared to the likes of Red Bulls and Renaults, one saw, his woes increase on tracks where Ferrari's overall package suffered from a blip vis-a-vis Mercedes' solidity.

Against this backdrop, just imagine what might have been the thoughts and feelings of the recent retiree, Fernando Alonso? Ever since the start of the 2015 F1 season, Alonso, a driver who always went from strength to strength withered away going from one weakness to the other as one season replaced the other, driving an utterly undrivable McLaren.

Having said that, it's only too obvious that his successor, the promising but inexperienced Lando Norris is a bit concerned about McLaren's future. He's never been in F1 before. And what he has in front of us is not just a team but a legacy, albeit one hampered by absolute struggles to get around the turbo-powered era of F1 racing.

And what's also true is that Lando Norris is probably a bit circumspect, for the lack of a better word, in lines with what to expect from a car that even though, has managed to keep Force India, Sauber, Williams, and Toro Rosso behind (Constructor's in 2018) but didn't exactly produce a competitive car that could even get close to a P5 or P4 in a Grand Prix.

Having said all of that, Lando Norris believes that perhaps the best man who can assess the current status of McLaren in lines with developing the next car for the new season is double world champion, Fernando Alonso.

A driver he respects a great deal, Norris is of the view that whatever feedback 'El Nino' can offer McLaren in lines with developing a solid machinery will be instrumental for 2019 prospects.

Norris measured with words with grace in suggesting that at the end of the day, his team would want to offer the best and competitive machinery on the grid. While McLaren may not be able to fight for podiums, unless something drastic and impressive is effected, the fight will once again be with the midfielders, including Racing Point Force India, Williams, and Sauber.

Having said that, Racer magazine, in lines with Norris' comments on Alonso's key advice published the following extracts:

I think it’ll be very valuable,” Norris said. “He’s obviously got the best idea of how the car’s changed over the years, the best experience of what’s good and what’s bad — a lot more than I do. Obviously, I don’t know what’s going to happen … he still is part of McLaren, I guess a lot is up to him.