Lando Norris has expressed his disappointment with McLaren’s performance during the long runs at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, going so far as to claim he could drive a road car faster. Finishing the second practice session a mere 0.011 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton’s leading Mercedes, Norris was not satisfied with the apparent result.
Struggles with Low Grip and Front Tyre Graining
Cold temperatures and a low-grip track surface presented challenges for all drivers. Norris noted that McLaren’s timesheet position did not reflect the difficulties they encountered, especially with front tyre graining issues.
It’s just very difficult, super low grip. I feel like I could drive a road car quicker than we drive at the minute…
This weekend, Norris is under pressure to perform well to keep his slender championship hopes alive. However, with long-run performance being “shocking”, he is not optimistic.
I think the low-fuel stuff has been OK. The high-fuel, that was shocking. So, yeah, plenty of things to look into.
Learning from the Session
Norris further explained his personal struggle with front graining issues:
This kind of combination of things, and when we struggle with front graining and stuff like that, I’m just not very good at it. So it’s always a bit of a struggle for me.
He believes the team has ample time to address the problems, seeing a divide in their performance:
But we have a good amount of time to work on it. So yeah, two halves really. Good low-fuel and difficult high-fuel.
Teammate’s Perspective
Oscar Piastri, Norris’ teammate, suggested that the rapid track evolution during practice makes it hard to pinpoint genuine performance metrics. He emphasised the impact of ongoing improvements with each track lap.
Every lap we do, the track’s getting better and better. But we knew what to expect this time, at least.
Piastri considered the session’s pace to be reasonable, albeit needing fine-tuning, cautioning that failing to perfect a lap could lead to time loss due to the evolving surface.
Hope for Remaining Competitive
Despite Mercedes’ apparent edge and Ferrari’s strength, Piastri asserted that McLaren is still competitive.
Mercedes have looked very quick today. Very, very quick. Ferrari’s been pretty strong as well. But I think we’re definitely in the mix.
With the Las Vegas Grand Prix underway, it remains to be seen how McLaren will overcome these challenges. The team will be working round the clock to adapt strategies and improve tyre management, ensuring they remain in contention for crucial championship points.
