F1 | Norris: “We're back to reality, behind Ferrari”

Lando Norris can't help but feel bitter, but he is also very realistic in commenting on the fifth place obtained in the Japanese Grand Prix. Third place on the grid had given him and McLaren the illusion of being able to give the Ferraris a run for their money at least for the lowest step of the podium in Suzuka.

In the race, however, his pace was not up to that of Carlos Sainz and in the end it was the Ferrari driver who completed the podium behind the two Red Bulls. What he hadn't taken into account, however, was that Charles Leclerc could also finish ahead of him, who only started eighth, but was very good at managing the tires and implementing a one-stop strategy. Overall, however, according to Lando, the result is a postcard of the current values ​​on the field.

“I didn't see incredible race pace from Ferrari. It didn't seem as good as Red Bull thought or as they said yesterday. I think in the end we are where we expected to be, which is behind Ferrari. That's where we've been throughout year. So it shouldn't be any different. I think yesterday we just did very well. I made some very good laps, making us look maybe a little too good. Today, however, we got back to reality,” Norris said.

When asked later if he was happy with the pace of his MCL38, he added: “I was only 10 seconds behind Sainz, I think that's a good job on our part. I was also 30 seconds behind the winner. As far as I felt bad, maybe it's not as bad as it seemed to me. But I think that yes, we hoped for something more, even if perhaps it was a false hope. If we had started further back, I think we would have been happy with fifth place in fact.”

Lando made no secret that he wasn't too convinced of the strategic choice made by the Woking team when he brought forward his second pit stop, bringing him in just as Leclerc made his only stop right in front of him. However, he is not certain that by adopting a different strategy the result would also have changed.

“I don't know. I was told to come back and I did what I was asked. But it's something we'll review with the team. I think we covered Russell, even if maybe it wasn't necessary. We pitted at the same time as Charles, but maybe I could have done another five or six laps, had fresher tires and recovered like Sainz, for example. It's just an opinion, but it's something we'll discuss and review.”

Among the options, McLaren had evaluated a strategy similar to that of Leclerc, but then discarded it: “Charles was slower than Carlos. So it wasn't the ideal strategy, even if it's difficult to overtake here. We thought about it, but with our speed and the disadvantage against Ferrari, we didn't think it was the right decision.”