In 2021, McLaren wants to move forward again. According to Lando Norris, the goal is therefore to fight Mercedes. The young Brit has to do this together with his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
Look ahead, don't look too much over your shoulders
Norris knows closing the gap to Red Bull Racing and Mercedes is going to be tough, but he doesn't want to look back too much to the teams behind them. "We’re on a fightback, making good improvements, and we showed that last year more than ever," Norris said in a press briefing from McLaren with GPblog.
"I don’t think we can underestimate what we’ve been able to do in the past, and what we can hopefully do in the future Norris continues. Racing Mercedes, that’s where our eyes are set at the minute. It’s what we’re working towards and what we’ve been closing in on over the last few years. But it takes a lot of hard work and time, that’s something continuing this year."
Norris expects Ferrari to be able to rejoin the top. “Ferrari are Ferrari, they’re extremely strong and competitive, they’ve shown that through their whole period in Formula 1. There are going to be races where they are quicker than us, and hopefully more races where they are slower than us. But it’s not just them, it’s every competitor on the grid."
Experience in Ricciardo will only help
Ricciardo joins McLaren as a new driver after the departure of Carlos Sainz. Norris is looking forward to working with the Australian but is not quite sure what to expect when they are in the same car. "It’s difficult for me to know just yet. I need to wait until we’re on track and we do our first shake-down later this week, I will already be able to take things away from doing a few laps. [At the minute] It’s difficult to know until we get into the proper pre-season test and the first race because that’s when things come alive a bit more and people show their true colours," he added.
"I’m sure it’s going to be every area where he’s pushing me, and hopefully I’ll be pushing him too, that’s the aim."