McLaren ended the Sprint race and the qualifying session for the Formula 1 Chinese GP in solid positions, but with the awareness that there are still points to improve for Sunday’s GP.
Read more F1: Mercedes celebrates positive qualifying in China: «Team did a fantastic job»
Lando Norris finished the Sprint race in 4th place and secured 6th in the qualifying session. The Briton evaluated the team’s performance: “It was a reasonable day, finishing pretty much where we expected. I think P4 was the maximum we could achieve in the Sprint, and we still managed to beat a Mercedes, better than expected. We know we have some weak areas in race pace that we are trying to improve. We have made progress, but we need to keep working to try and catch the teams ahead. In the qualifying session, we had a reasonable result, although I might have left a bit of time on the track. In Sector 3 we are losing time, both on the straight and in the corners. Tomorrow we are not far behind Ferrari’s pace, but they have some advantages that are hard to overcome. We will try to compete with the cars ahead and fight with Ferrari if possible, but we need to be smart and not compromise the race by trying to beat someone very fast. We will try to maximize the points we can earn,” concluded the current Formula 1 champion.
Oscar Piastri finished the Sprint in 6th and obtained 5th place in the qualifying session, and highlighted the need for adjustments: “P5 in the qualifying session and P6 in the Sprint. Overall, it was a decent day, but we still have work to do. The qualifying session result was as expected. My last lap wasn’t perfect, so there was a bit more potential, but we maximized what we could at other times. Tomorrow we will try to get a good start and manage the tires, which were a key factor in this morning’s Sprint. The car’s pace will be very important, so let’s see what we can improve overnight to earn more points,” finished the Australian driver.
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McLaren concluded the day with good starting positions and a focus on fine-tuning, seeking to transform the consistency shown today into significant points in the Chinese GP.
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