Lando Norris, the McLaren driver, had a great season last year. However, they did not start well in 2023. But the second half of the last season told a whole new story. Initially, the fans were wondering if Mercedes or Ferrari could catch up to the pace of Red Bull. Clearly, the Austrian outfit was the most dominant team in 2023, like they were in the year before as well. No other team came close to the pace of Christian Horner’s team. However, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc started the 2022 season pretty well. He won two races of the first three Grands Prix that year. But then Leclerc could not maintain his pace and gave Max Verstappen an easy way to clinch his second title in 2022.
Last year, it looked like the two Red Bull drivers would fight till the end for the title. After the first four races last season, the two Red Bull drivers won two each. Then, Sergio Perez lost his grip like Leclerc did in 2022. And Max Verstappen went on to win 19 races in 2023. Red Bull won 21 of 22 GPs last season. How many will they win in 2024? Only time can tell. But Lando Norris believes McLaren can beat Red Bull at least once in 2024. However, the question is if they can do it repeatedly.
Lando Norris Is Optimistic About Beating Red Bull This Year
Last year, in the British Grand Prix, Lando Norris went very close to beating Max Verstappen. But with a gap of 0.3 seconds, the Dutch driver secured yet another win. However, in the second half of the 2023 season, it was quite clear that McLaren was the fastest team behind Red Bull. Moreover, Max Verstappen mentioned that McLaren and Norris can be a real threat this year. On Wednesday, McLaren gave their 2024 challenger, MCL38, its first laps at Silverstone.
Later, in an interview, Lando Norris mentioned they can beat Red Bull because they were pretty close last year on a few occasions. However, Norris wonders if they can beat Max Verstappen and Red Bull over a season because it is going to be very challenging. Moreover, the McLaren driver said the Red Bull team is performing incredibly well. Hence, it is going to be very difficult to beat them over a whole season. However, Norris wants to stay optimistic and believe they can beat them at certain times.
Oscar Piastri Can Agree With Norris Too
Even the other McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri believes they can beat Verstappen and Red Bull. Last year, in Qatar, Piastri finished second. Piastri agrees with his teammate about having a good chance to beat Red Bull if they can maintain the rate of development. Moreover, Oscar Piastri said it is not just the Austrian outfit they are fighting against. Last year, they had a close battle with Ferrari and Mercedes in the second half.
Moreover, Piastri mentioned he believes there will be other teams making progress as well in 2024. On the other hand, Lando Norris mentioned the new car felt comfortable with no surprises. Again, Piastri agreed with his teammate, saying that it was “Smooth sailing compared to how these days go.”
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