"It helps us not to have DRS" - Lando Norris highlights major issue with McLaren this season
McLaren driver Lando Norris has said that the team is working hard to solve the issues on the MCL60, with one of the problems being efficiency of the DRS.
The MCL60 is one of the draggiest cars on the track and does not produce efficient downforce and also top speed. Interestingly, Norris said that the car is better when DRS is not used, as the drag on the straights is cut out.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Norris said:
“I was able to race against them and overtake them, which was probably one of the biggest challenges we faced because our top speed is so bad. But I overtook Hulkenberg and had a good race with him. So it was sometimes positive. I think it helps us not to have DRS. We were shocked to see how bad we were with DRS and how draggy the car is when we open the DRS.
"We are catching up a few miles per hour, but other cars are gaining ten to fifteen miles per hour. For us, it’s a different story. Saturday is our big weakness at the moment, especially if you have four DRS zones, that is not in our favour.”
"I’m happy; the team’s done a good job, and we deserved it” - Lando Norris
The McLaren driver said that he was happy that the team had their best weekend in Melbourne, with a double points finish.
Lando Norris told F1.com:
“For sure, our best weekend so far. All my comments and my feelings (after qualifying), I didn’t have my hopes too high, but actually since Lap 1 the pace compared to some of the cars around us – like the AlphaTauri, like the Haas – was a bit closer. I felt a little bit quicker, so I could race against them, I could actually have some fun, attack, and have a bit of racing action, so (it was) a good day.
"P6, some reasonable points for us, same for Oscar to have him in the points at the same time. We just stayed out of trouble, which was the biggest challenge today, which was avoiding the people locking up and causing chaos, so I’m happy; the team’s done a good job, and we deserved it.”
It will be interesting to see if the proposed changes bring any performance boost to the car and aid Lando Norris to secure more points.