The Woking-based team had a difficult start to the 2022 season, with brake problems that marred the last winter tests and dragged them into the opening round in Bahrain, where they did not score points.
However, his car has proved more competitive as the year has progressed, and this weekend at Imola, Lando Norris was able to qualify in third place on Friday in changeable conditions before finishing on the podium on Sunday, only by behind the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez .
McLaren chief executive Andreas Seidl said that after a fifth- and sixth-place finish in Australia two weeks ago, the indications are that current form is a realistic picture of where the team is.
“It’s great to see that we have this consistency, and it’s great to confirm that Melbourne was not an isolated thing, but that the MCL36 is a good car, a solid base for all the developments that are taking place,” he explained.
“It was good to see that, under normal conditions, this weekend we have been competitive, and that, in the end, we have been the third fastest team in the grand prix,” he said. “Of course, to get a podium in the current situation, one of the two cars from Red Bull and Ferrari has to have a problem.
“They seem to be a big step ahead, but at the same time it’s not just about performance, it’s also about doing well on the race weekend, like we have,” Seidl continued.
Despite the strong result that has helped McLaren to fourth in the constructors’ championship, Norris believes the team still needs to deliver ‘next level’ upgrades to have any hope of consistently battling near the front.
“We need improvements everywhere, high, medium and low speed, perhaps with a greater preference towards medium and slow speed,” explained the Briton. “But as a package, everything has to be next level.”
“As we’ve said in the past, the balance has been good. And we’re happy with that. It’s just that you do a good lap, you do something that feels good, and you’re slow because you’re going through every corner worse than everyone else.” Norris.
“So it’s not easy, you want to focus on everything, but in this long season, you have to prioritize certain things first,” he said.
“We haven’t brought anything big. I know there have been big steps, but it’s not like we’ve brought new flooring or anything like that, just smaller things, but those things seem to have an effect when you put them all together on a weekend like this. “, sentenced the English pilot.
