During the race at the Suzuka circuit, McLaren driver Lando Norris was one of the first to enter the pits for a tire change. When he was third, the Brit was instructed to come to the pits. In the end it was Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz who took third place.
Immediately after being sent to the pits, Norris announced that he disagreed with his team. Norris eventually crossed the finish line in fifth place, behind both Ferraris. After the race, Norris reflected on how he experienced the team’s strategy in front of the SkySports camera.
Pecking order has been restored
McLaren initially had a good chance of a podium place in Japan. However, the British racing team proved to be no match for the Italian Ferrari in particular. ‘It was a difficult race. Compared to the Ferraris we were just not enough. I think everything has aligned again with regards to Red Bull, Ferrari, and us.” According to Norris, the McLaren would in principle be less strong than Ferrari’s SF24.
‘It’s really a shame. It doesn’t feel good to start third and then drop off,” says Norris. ‘It really feels like you are fighting a losing battle against these guys (Red Bull and Ferrari, ed.), because they can simply do much more. They can continue for longer, expand and have a larger tire delta. That’s hard to match.’
Ferrari is ahead
Norris is not completely disappointed. ‘We tried hard and did what we could do. We got maximum points behind the two top teams and that’s all we could do.” Norris is also pleased with Charles Leclerc’s performance. ‘Leclerc has done a good job going so far on a set of tyres. I was surprised that we pitted so early because it put us in line with what Ferrari was doing.’
According to Norris, there will be consultation within McLaren following the result achieved. ‘To see if we could have finished fourth in a better way. But at the moment itself it is always difficult to make these kinds of decisions.’ In any case, one thing is certain according to Norris. Ferrari is clearly ahead. That has been the case all year long. And that is still the case. We haven’t adjusted anything all year, so there is no reason for us to be ahead,” concludes Norris.
