Many updates to the McLaren MCL60 during the 2023 season, but Lando Norris doesn’t recognise anything in them that makes his current Formula One car a “B version “
McLaren has completely revamped its Formula 1 car during the 2023 season, establishing itself in the front midfield. Lando Norris, however, refuses to call the heavily modified MCL60 a “B version”, instead calling the car simply an “improved version”.
Ahead of the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, Norris said, “The characteristics have remained the same, as have our problems. It’s not like we’ve redone everything and all of a sudden everything feels different. We’re just faster and we’re not so good yet that we can currently compete with Red Bull and be in contention for wins.”
Because even the improved MCL60 still has its weaknesses, Norris says. “We still lose a lot of lap time with it sometimes. And it’s always the same things that can’t be changed, with the aerodynamic or mechanical balance. Whatever we do, it turns out badly and we have problems. It’s cost us a couple of races. “
McLaren is good, but not good enough yet according to Norris
As long as the car has those characteristics, it’s not a B version, Norris says. But if McLaren managed to fix these problems, the team would be “very strong and racing for podiums”.
“Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference. We are still lacking in some areas to get on par with Red Bull. But: the majority of our focus has been on getting to the point where we are now. That’s what we needed. And now we can focus on other things.”
After all, there is “nothing wrong” with the current McLaren MCL60, Norris insists. On the contrary, McLaren has “received very, very positive signals” with it and Norris’ confidence has been given “new impetus” by recent development successes. “Because I’ve seen what the team has achieved this season,” Norris says. “We’ve shown a pretty good rate of progress this year. “
Austria update as a pointer for McLaren
The Austria update was particularly effective: McLaren manoeuvred itself out of the broad midfield and into the chasing pack directly behind Red Bull, and at times managed to catch up with the leaders.
This gave the whole team a new boost, says Norris. McLaren is now “more hopeful that we can just tweak something on the car and it works straight away”.
But will that be confirmed in Singapore and Japan? McLaren, again, has some new parts with it and is looking to improve the MCL60 further.
Zandvoort rear wing won’t arrive until Singapore
But not everything is brand new, as Norris explains, “At Zandvoort we had a rear wing with us, but we didn’t use it there. We saved it for Singapore.”
“There are also a few little things that you can easily see on the car. We haven’t been on track with it yet though, so I don’t want to say too much about it until we get it working properly. It should be a good step though.” Either way, he said, it’s been an “interesting few weeks” for the team.
That’s because one of the things McLaren has done with the Austria update is to improve its performance in fast corners. “Now, for the first time, we’re working on something to improve our form in slow passages,” Norris said.
Norris’ wishes remain unfulfilled
Himself, however, would apparently have wished for something else for the MCL60: “The update is not necessarily a help in the areas where I would have liked something purely from my driving style. But it should help with cornering speed, consistency, tyre wear and traction. It’s purely about improving performance without making me feel better in the car.”
Outside the car, however, Norris seems confident. Recent developments give him reason to hope he can get even further ahead with McLaren. There are also “new people for 2024” and the further development of the company’s own simulator, plus the new wind tunnel. “These are all good signs,” says Norris.
