Lando Norris thinks a small additional time gain with his McLaren MCL60 could have earned him his first Grand Prix victory in 2023.
The British driver ends 2023 with a particularly undesirable record: the most podiums without a win in a GP, as he achieved his 13th career podium during the season.
Norris has yet to win a race in Formula 1, while his teammate Oscar Piastri crossed the finish line first in the Sprint race in Qatar. But neither of the two drivers was able to win a Grand Prix despite the impressive performances of the MCL60 in the second half of the season.
The British driver reflected on his rollercoaster year and believes that a small additional performance gain could have allowed him to win a Grand Prix.
“I think Brazil and Qatar were the main races to do that. Suzuka wasn’t too bad.”
“What does it come down to? These are small things, you know, it’s not even like it was half a second per lap. It’s maybe a tenth, a tenth and a half per lap. So that’s what we need to find in addition to Red Bull’s normal progression this winter.”
When asked to specify what he needed from the car, whether it is more mechanical grip or more downforce, Norris stands his ground: the main weakness of the MCL60 remains its aversion to slow corners.
“In my opinion, it’s the low-speed performance that has sorely missed us, but also the handling of the car in some places. For both Oscar and me, we agreed that it had to be driven in a very particular way.”
“When you went about 99.9%, it was amazing. But when you asked for 100%, the game was over. As evidenced by all my mistakes in qualifying.”
“And when you’re at 99.5%, it’s game over, it’s not fast enough compared to the pack behind us.”
“So you have to drive it in that perfect little range, but it’s too difficult to maintain over a season.”