McLaren had no chance against Alpine pace in French Formula One race – A mysterious piece of debris on Lando Norris was not to blame
McLaren were forced to acknowledge they did not have the pace to beat the two Alpines in the Formula One French Grand Prix. While Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were ahead of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon respectively in qualifying, the signs changed in the race.
A mysterious piece of debris that Norris retrieved from the right side box of his McLaren MCL36 at Parc Ferme was not to blame, however. Television footage showed Norris noticing the stray aero piece after getting out of his car, before examining it and placing it in the cockpit.
The things you find in F̶r̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ YOUR CAR?!
Nice souvenir at least, @LandoNorris FrenchGP F1 @McLarenF1 pic. twitter.com/6wFALgBU7b
– Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022
His McLaren team confirmed that the part was picked up by the Briton in the closing stages of the race but had no effect on Norris’ performance.
Norris: “Were just too slow “
Norris had qualified fifth in the McLaren update, but a poor start saw him lose two positions to George Russell and Alonso. The Briton made up one place after the Leclerc accident, but later had to give it back to Carlos Sainz.
“I had a bit of wheelspin,” he said when asked about his start. “But I don’t think it changed our race in any way, Fernando would have passed me anyway. We were just too slow.”
“I think we achieved everything we should have done and could have done today. Frustrating because I think after yesterday our hopes went up a little bit,” said Norris.
The track conditions on Sunday don’t seem to have helped Norris either. “It was tricky and a bit windy. Especially in the long right-hand corner where Charles crashed, there was a gust of wind that seemed to throw the car off track at times. And the temperatures were just too hot. So it was very difficult to deal with the tyres.”
“And when you know beforehand that you’re only going to make one stop, you have to take it easy on the tyres a lot in the beginning to give yourself the confidence that you’re going to make it to the end. “
