McLaren finished the 2020 season as the third most points-scoring constructor. However, in 2021 it fell to fourth position.
Currently, the team is in fourth place again , in a permanent battle with Alpine, its most direct rival. Whoever wins, the truth is that McLaren will close 2022 with far fewer points than last year.
Lando Norris has 100 points so far this year , and it seems unlikely that he will match his career high of 160.
The Briton clearly committed to the team until at least 2025 , hiding behind the supposed progress of the team after a restructuring that is still ongoing, and with a new wind tunnel on the way.
However, Norris was undeterred by McLaren’s drop in status and insisted he hadn’t counted on any big changes in 2022.
“I don’t think anything has changed,” he said of the team’s seemingly stalled progress. “I didn’t come into this season expecting to be on the podium every weekend, but for third, fourth or fifth [place]. But I didn’t expect that [fighting for the top positions] every weekend.”
“It’s always difficult, especially when it’s a new car and a new generation of cars, to know what exactly is going to happen. The rest are always going to find much better solutions, like Red Bull, who don’t have the same level of porpoising. what Mercedes.
“There are big differences, but I think in the next couple of years they will narrow down and everyone will get a lot closer. I guess you always feel a bit disappointed when you expect a little more than you’re getting.”
Norris said he still has faith that the team will make a big leap forward in the next two years.
“It’s not just my thing, everyone at McLaren wants to win and wants to fight and get better every weekend and every month and every season. I think everyone feels it, and everyone still has a lot of faith in the team. “.
“Everyone is working very hard to understand everything and try to take those steps that we need to get back to where Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes are. So I don’t think anything has changed.
“I keep looking to the future with McLaren. And yes, there are always going to be tough spots and tough parts of the season, or tough seasons, and this is one of them.”
“It’s frustrating sometimes, because you think you’ve done good laps and you’re disappointed to finish sixth, or 10th, or whatever. But I don’t think that changes anything that I think we can do in a couple of years.”
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