Lando Norris pinpoints major area where Red Bull holds a decisive advantage over McLaren

Lando Norris recently spoke about how tire degradation was one of the key areas where Red Bull was better than McLaren. Tires are always one of the most important areas drivers and teams have to focus on, simply because they degrade depending on the track characteristics and the car itself. Norris feels that Red Bull has an upper hand in terms of degradation.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Hungarian GP on Sunday, July 23, Norris spoke about his tires and how they degraded after a while but came back to optimal performance after falling off. The McLaren driver explained how he was under constant pressure from Sergio Perez, who was chasing him. Norris said:

"Degradation was tricky today. The tyres felt like they held in well, then they dropped off and came back to you. The stints were all over the place depending on where you were in the stint. But at the end of the race the tyres came back to me a bit and I managed to maintain the gap to Checo. So, stressful. Even in the middle of the race I was like 'I want to chill for a bit'. In the back of my head I knew Perez is in a Red Bull and you see Max pulling away."

Furthermore, Lando Norris explained how Red Bull were not necessarily quicker over one lap, but that their degradation was much slower than McLaren. He added:

"A lot of it is tyre degradation. It's not necessarily they are way quicker over one lap, it's just there degradation. You need to make sure you are good at the end of the stints in case he catches me and to be able to race and put up a fight. It's a challenge to know how much to push and save."

The Briton finished second at the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP. This was his first consecutive podium finish after securing the second position in Silverstone a couple of weeks ago.

---

Lando Norris' humorous reply to how he could go for a race win in the future

Lando Norris has suddenly moved up the ranks and has now bagged two podium finishes in the British and Hungarian GPs. After the race in Hungary during parc ferme, he was interviewed by Nico Rosberg and asked whether he could aim for race wins in future races. To this, Norris humorously replied that he could, but only if Max Verstappen retired from the sport.

"If Max retires or something, that may be?" Norris said. "But the minute the guy’s that quick here unless they make mistakes or something happens."

Max Verstappen has been winning every single race since the Miami GP in May 2023. Hence, Lando Norris' joke was perfect since, without Verstappen being there, he would have won the race.