Start of the year with some hitches
There McLaren in 2023 it was the big positive surprise of the championship, managing, from mid-season onwards, to consistently fight for podium places. Many were therefore curious to see if the new MCL38 it would have been Red Bull's main rival since the three days of testing in Bahrain. The answer, at the moment, seems negative.
The Woking team did a good job at the Sakhir circuit, but there was no shortage of setbacks especially when Lando Norris was at the wheel, slowed down on Thursday by problems with the fuel intake and today by clutch problems. Even in terms of performance, the papaya car did not appear irresistible and the English driver himself, in the press conference, did not hide the fact that he sees the McLaren at the moment further back in the hierarchies ahead of the first GP of the year.
Clear hierarchies
“At the end of last season we had a decent car and I think we have made some steps in the right direction – explained Norris, who recently signed an important contract extension with the historic British team – but I think we are still far behind Red Bull and Ferrari“.
However, it is impossible not to recognize how finally, compared to the pre-season tests of recent years, McLaren finds itself, right from the start, in a situation more in keeping with its coat of arms: “We certainly started off on the right foot in these tests. I don't think we've ever done the same in the last three or four years. This time we arrived with much more knowledge and skills and with a better car to start the season with.”.
#Norris #reveals #hierarchies #Ferrari
