Lando Norris expands on what McLaren needs to do catch Red Bull and Max Verstappen

Lando Norris believes McLaren needs to improve its decision-making and strategies to beat Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Speaking to onsite media in Barcelona, the Briton felt that the Woking squad needed to respond better in situations like the Canadian GP.

Verstappen and Red Bull struggled all weekend in terms of pure pace in Canada. As per Christian Horner’s admission, the right strategy call and tire changes were crucial for them to clinch the win. He was surprised at McLaren’s call of not pitting Lando Norris when they had the chance. If the Briton had pitted before the Dutchman, he would have likely come out in the lead. Instead, the British driver was left out for two more laps, which cost him the win.

Reflecting upon areas where McLaren could improve, Lando Norris felt that it was smaller areas where the team could make a difference. He believes quicker decision-making and a better understanding of pitstop strategies were areas that needed improvising.

The 24-year-old felt that pitting late did not feel like the wrong decision at the moment but they were in a difficult position. An area where Red Bull has been flawless is its strategy and it remains a well-oiled machine when it comes to pitting their drivers at the right time.

Asked what areas needed improvement to beat Red Bull in terms of executing a good race, Lando Norris said:

“It's not a huge amount, like it's small things, it's just like split seconds of decision making and understanding. Like Montreal was let's see, a fairly, although it's quite simple, it was also a fairly difficult decision with what the weather was doing and changing. So it wasn't as simple as just saying, at the time we've easily made the wrong decision. Those things we definitely could have done better and could have done better and we should have boxed all of those things.”

“It's not just as easy as saying that though, because there are all the factors which led us to want me to stay out and not necessarily box at the time. Like the weather initially expected to be very bad coming in and actually got less and less and less rain. So if there was that little bit less, you could have stayed out like some drivers did and it turned out to be still a good thing to do. So again, it wasn't like we made the wrong decision. It was just the positioning we were in, certain other variables made it look worse against some of these other guys. But still we weren't prepared as what we should have been. You know, we should have boxed.”

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Lando Norris believes he would have won the Canadian GP if it were not for their delayed strategy

Lando Norris believes if McLaren had taken their free pitstop, he would have come out ahead of Max Verstappen. He believes that the decision to keep him out was a complicated one, given the weather conditions.

The British driver felt they had two seconds to decide the course of action. He felt not being able to make the right decision in a split second was one of their weaknesses. However, the Grand Prix winner felt that there were areas where McLaren was better than Red Bull and other rivals.

Praising Red Bull and their decisions, Lando Norris felt it was easy for them to take the right call. He believed that sometimes it is the mentality going in situations like Canada, where McLaren was pressured. The 24-year-old felt that the Milton Keynes squad had always done a good job but it was up to his team to step up and challenge them.

Explaining the mistakes made in Canada during the pitstop strategy, Lando Norris said:

“There was no harm, I would have come out, where even if he didn't box. I still would have come out easily in the lead. So that was kind of like a no loss, no risk, free pit stop that I could have had. But the fact that I had like two seconds and the team had two seconds to decide at the time, whether it was going to rain or not enough to stay out, like it's a complicated decision. So I really don't think it's a lot and I think there's a lot of stuff we do better than other teams better than Red Bull, better than Mercedes, better than other teams. So it's just certain times and certain situations. Some are going to show our weaknesses and things that we should have done better. But at the same time, I think all the teams have made mistakes and we've done better job than all the teams in scenarios.”

Asked if Red Bull had an advantage with their winning edge or if it was difficult for them henceforth, Lando Norris replied:

“No. I think they're a good enough team that even when they've been leading, they still generally always made the correct decisions. So whether they've been relaxed or not, they've still always done a good job and made good decisions. So for them, I don't think it's, yeah, I think it's kind of normal business for them. I think it's for us. Things change a little bit, you know, and even people change a little bit when you're fighting for a win or for a second. Your mentality, even when you try to not make it or allow it, your mentality is always gonna change. You're going to feel a little bit more pressure, a bit more nerves. It's just more us having to step it up a little bit more than anything else.”

Running third in the driver’s championship, Lando Norris is 63 points behind leader Max Verstappen and trails Charles Leclerc by seven points. With both Ferraris retiring in Canada, Red Bull was able to extend their lead and McLaren was able to close in on second place in both driver’s and constructors championship.

With Spain being a more conventional circuit, a lot of teams including McLaren are scheduled to bring upgrades. It could be the circuit that decides the pecking order of the grid before summer break. However, the Woking squad could be in a strong position, with the rate of development of their car being better than their rivals.