"Prepared to drive it differently" - Lando Norris on adapting driving style to new McLaren MCL36

Lando Norris says he’s prepared to drive the McLaren MCL36 using different driving styles to extract the best possible performance. The McLaren driver says he has been used to a “particular driving style” during the last few years, due to the unique demands of the teams' previous challengers.

Speaking to the media after the first day of Barcelona testing, when he when topped the timing sheets, Norris said:

“I spent a lot of time in the simulator not only driving the car, but also being prepared to drive it differently and to use different driving styles. Over the past few years our car has been pretty specific about how to get performance and it showed with Daniel when he came to our team.”

He further said:

“Before arriving in Formula 1, I experienced this situation in every category where I raced. Every year I have had to adapt to something new to try to get the most out of the car. Last year I feel I succeeded, while Daniel struggled.”

Ahead of the new season, Norris feels the new regulations make it necessary for every driver on the grid to change how they drive to suit the new cars. He says adapting to McLaren’s 2022 car could prove to be a challenge but is willing to tackle the situation head-on.

The 2022 cars are radically different in terms of aerodynamic philosophy compared to the previous generation of F1 cars. The new cars are heavier, produce downforce differently, and therefore behave differently compared to last year’s F1 cars. Drivers will need to quickly adapt to the new cars to be able to stay competitive.

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Daniel Ricciardo’s difficulties in adapting to last year’s McLaren cost the team in constructors' championship

Despite having had a superior car compared to their Italian rivals for the best part of the season, McLaren lost out to Ferrari during the final few races of 2021. As a result, the Woking-based outfit dropped to the fourth position in the constructors' championship. This was due to their failure to maximize their points potential, as one of their drivers was struggling to extract the best out of his car.

Daniel Ricciardo joined McLaren ahead of the 2021 season and was expected to impress on his debut for the British team. The Australian, however, struggled to adapt his driving style to the 'brutal' McLaren MCL35M that demanded a specific driving style.

Despite Ricciardo’s proven capabilities, for the most part, he was unable to make full use of his car’s potential. This ultimately left team-mate Norris battling the Scuderia alone for much of the season.

While his relative lack of pace compared to his team-mate ultimately hurt his team, Ricciardo was not the only driver to switch teams in 2021 that struggled to adapt to their new car. Sergio Perez, who debuted for Red Bull, also struggled to extract the best out of his car, potentially costing Milton Keynes a shot at the constructors' championship.

Meanwhile, other drivers such as Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who also switched teams (or in the case of Alonso, returned to the sport after a sabbatical), managed to quickly adapt to their new cars, and even outperformed their teammates on occasions throughout the season.