“There’s a bit of relief”: Lando Norris on McLaren’s big step in catching F1 rivals

McLaren driver Lando Norris breathed a sigh of relief after the recent round of upgrades that have put the team in the mix with the frontrunners.

Norris and the Woking-based squad suffered from a disastrous start to their 2023 campaign as the MCL60 was the slowest car on the grid. The team entered the season with modest expectations, pinning their hopes on the upgrade packages.

The upgrades brought a major turnaround in fortunes for McLaren, which was appearing to slip gradually. Norris and the team were relieved to see the drastic upturn in results after their recent doldrums.

"I guess there's always a bit of relief, just going from any difficult situation to having such a big change around," Norris said to Motorsport.com. "Even if we took half the step we did take, I think we still would have seen that as a positive sign. But the step was even bigger than we were expecting. So, of course, it's a relief, but not just for myself, I think for the whole team."

It was the second round of upgrades that radically changed the troubled MCL60. Lando Norris got the upgrades in Austria, with more upgrades in Silverstone, where his teammate Oscar Piastri also got the B-spec car.

"We kind of took quite a big step back over the winter to reassess everything that we're doing, and the route we're taking and that's why we were quite delayed with putting the upgrades that we've had in place and onto the car. But we took our time and we had to stay patient." he added about the process.

The duo has maximized the results for the team, with the Briton taking two podiums and Piastri proving his talent with a second-place finish in the Sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps.

McLaren's resurgence has reassured Norris about the team's potential, as he is tied down with the team until the end of 2025. He admits that he is happy with the team and has faith in winning races and championships for them in the future.

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F1 pundit claims Oscar Piastri will continue to beat Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris

From retiring in his maiden F1 start to leading a sprint race, former F2 champion Oscar Piastri has had an eventful rookie season with McLaren. He already seems to be keeping pace with his much-experienced teammate, Lando Norris.

Peter Windsor predicts tough times for the British driver, as he expects the rookie to continue his stellar form (via Windsor's YouTube channel).

"This is not going to be easy for Lando Norris, because this guy is a very good driver, who drives short corners. Lando drives fewer short turns. He has been doing that for years and he has not developed in it, which is a bit worrying at Lando."

Windsor further compared the dynamic between the teammates to the Red Bull pairing as he said.

"Just as Sergio Pérez doesn’t seem to understand the difference between Max and himself, I wonder if Lando sees that...I think [Piastri] will continue to beat Norris."

Norris is eighth in the standings, while Piastri is 11th, with 35 points separating the two drivers.