(Motorsports news) The Belgian GP revealed the McLaren’s shortcomings on fast tracks, and Norris, who finished seventh, was unable to defend during the race. Norris qualified tenth for the Monza race and placed eighth despite spending many laps stranded behind Alex Albon’s Williams.
Norris believed that the vehicle was more competitive overall and that he could at least compete with other cars, even though the final result was actually a position lower than at Spa. When questioned by Motorsport.com if the outcome constituted damage limitation, he responded, “I think I’m still happy.”
“P8 had a few points. And perhaps we had hoped for a little bit more. However, there were instances when McLaren anticipated not even being in the points. I’m pleased with it, so. “I believe it was damage control. It’s encouraging to see our advancements on a low-downforce circuit at the same time. I am aware that there wasn’t much and that some of it consisted of repurposing items from the previous year.
However, McLaren made some good advancements, and the car was race-ready, which is a positive development. Only Las Vegas remains this season’s low downforce course. After trailing Albon’s Williams for so many laps, Norris conceded that he had developed a strong familiarity with the back of the car. “I knew it before already very well,” he claimed.
I’ve spent a lot of time in this situation over the past few years! Alex deserves praise for driving a strong race. It’s aggravating that he didn’t make any mistakes. We had some nice fights, I tried. I gave it a good shot. But in the straights, they were too swift for us. And even with DRS, I catch perhaps 2-3 kph faster than he is. I’m still content, so.
“Unfortunately, I think the Williams may have prevented us from scoring as many points as McLaren could have. He did, however, drive well and constrained what we could accomplish. The tempo was suitable. But it was too impossible to overtake. “And yes, there would have been a collision if I had attempted to speak on the inside for Turn 2; McLaren most likely would have done a Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. So certainly, we raced fairly, in my opinion.
“He did, too. You must occasionally be elbows out, of course. That’s what he did. He ran a strong race. The incident with teammate Oscar Piastri at the same corner, which neither driver was injured in, was also minimized by Norris.
He merely got a little understeer, so I assume he was running on cold tires or something. I believe I left a sufficient spacing, but it was nearly impossible to see in the mirror. He apparently ran into my rear tire since hard and cold tires are not a good match. “I believe that McLaren value one another. McLaren respect one another’s space. Unfortunately, nothing took place. So everything is OK.
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