Contradicting Andrea Stella’s Encouragement, Lando Norris Baffled by McLaren’s “Shocking Difficulties”

Formula 1 is a sport of minuscule margins. In a sport where a second divides the entire field and a hundredth of a second is what separates the winner from a loser, every second counts. This is exactly why drivers always manage their expectations because even the slightest slip-up can completely hamper the entire weekend. This is exactly the outlook Lando Norris has toward the 2023 Mexican GP.

The Brit has been enjoying some incredible races thanks to the McLaren MCL60’s newfound performance. The Brit who has been on the podium for the last four races would like to continue his streak. However, ahead of the racing action in Mexico, Norris managed his expectations thanks to McLaren’s shocking difficulties contradicting his team boss. First, let’s see what Norris had to say.

Lando Norris manages expectations for the 2023 Mexican GP

Over the first two practice sessions, Norris went fourth fastest and improved to second fastest in FP1 and FP2, respectively. However, the Brit is staying cautious, as he believes the gird is extremely close and one misstep will result in losing 5 or 6 positions. Couple this with some areas where the MCL60 is shockingly lacking and the Woking outfit has a lot to analyse before the race.

“It’s only Friday, so let’s not get too excited. However, we are close thanks to a good lap but we can perhaps still nibble on something. A start weekend perhaps better than we expected, difficult to say how competitive we really are on race pace, here it is difficult to overtake and we struggle on some corners, for example, the last corner was shocking, we had some difficulties and this will create difficulties for us if we want to attack or defend. However, we can improve further, we are all close and one mistake is enough to lose five or six positions. We will analyze our race pace better,” said Norris.

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The McLaren man is geared up to keep his focus and deliver with 100% precision but with a sense of skepticism. However, his team boss is of a different opinion.

Andrea Stella’s take on McLaren’s readiness for the Mexican GP

Norris is already aware of his opponents’, especially the world champion, strengths and is taking a cautious approach to the weekend. However, for Stella, the first two practice sessions have been flawless, and the team looks right on track to challenge the front runners. Stella expressed this during his conversation with the media.

“It’s been a productive first day in Mexico City. We had no issues across either session, which meant we could work on set-up, tyres, and cooling. Overall, our performance looks encouraging, however, it seems many teams have the potential to be competitive here. We will do our best, adapt to the conditions, and hopefully secure good starting positions tomorrow for Sunday’s Grand Prix,” said Stella. 

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However, pre-race jitters are quite normal and Norris is cautiously optimistic exactly how all drivers are. We won’t know how the McLaren man will fare until he takes to the track for the qualifying session, which won’t be long.