Immediately in the top-3
Positive indications for McLaren in the first pre-season test session held in Bahrain, with the Woking team ending the day in the role of Red Bull's direct opponent, at least on paper. This, obviously, taking into consideration the objectives and work expected of each team in the tests in preparation for the world championship, with Lando Norris however the protagonist of the 2nd place absolute.
Long distance duel with Verstappen
The Briton, who took to the track after the 57 morning laps completed by Oscar Piastri, also occupied the top of the standings during the afternoon, only to then surrender to the performance of the reigning world champion Verstappen, faster by more than a second despite the1:32.484 signed by Norris (who took to the track with the helmet livery in memory of Gil de Ferran) in 72 laps completed
“First of all, I'm very happy to be back behind the wheel – he has declared – our first test with the new car was very enjoyable and it proved reliable on track, so all in all a positive day. We worked on several aspects during the session, as expected in testing, sticking to the plan and executing it well. We still have two long days of testing ahead of us and a lot to improve and fine-tune, but everything is going in the right direction. I can't wait to get back to driving tomorrow and continue to put the MCL38 to the test.”
Plates also positive
After the 4th place obtained in the first phase of Day 1, Piastri nevertheless completed the day in top-9, with the time of 1:33.658 which earned him ninth position: “The first day of testing went relatively well for me – he concluded – it was a pretty solid day and it was nice to be back on track in good conditions. We will see what we can do as the test continues and we will try to understand the car well by the end of the test. I would say that there are some differences compared to last year that go in the right direction. It was a good start to the test and I can't wait to get back in the car for the second day tomorrow”
#Norris #Day #positive #respected #plans
