McLaren disappointment?
After having played the role of one of the most anticipated teams on the eve of this season, the McLaren perhaps disappointed the expectations of those who indicated the two MCL38's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fighting for the top-5, or even for the podium. Instead, the Briton and the Australian from Woking crossed the finish line respectively at 6th and 8th place.
McLaren vs Mercedes
Starting from the seventh spot on the starting grid, Norris managed to recover just one place during the race, only coming close to the Mercedes in the final stages. George Russell. However, the recovery on his compatriot to occupy the top-5 was not successful, but Norris himself is still satisfied with the pace of his car, such that it can keep up with the pace of the Brackley car.
“It's a fight between all the teams, but it's too early to say which one in particular – he explained to Sky Sport F1 after the race – today was a race against Mercedes, because clearly Ferrari, especially with Carlos, was too far ahead for us. At one point I thought about taking Charles, but then maybe he found something in terms of balance at the end, so we couldn't attack him. We were more or less level with Mercedes, which is good news for us. We can be very happy to have started the year close to Mercedes, but we want more“.
Piastri was also satisfied
Piastri's considerations on the race were not negative either, as he started from eighth place and remained in the same position until the checkered flag: “A P8 to start the year – commented – I personally felt it was a good race for me, and I think the race pace we had was good. There are some things to improve, but… it wasn't a bad first race for us, especially when you think about where we were this time last year. I can't wait to see what the next circuits have in store for us and to see what we can do in the races to come.”
#Norris #Happy #started #close #Mercedes
