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Norris: Tyre management harder in practice than races

Norris: Tyre management harder in practice than races

22-04-2019 08:31
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Bobby Vincent

McLaren driver Lando Norris has insisted that judging how much tyre-saving he needs to do is more difficult to do in practice sessions than it is on the actual race-day.

Norris has enjoyed a successful start to life in Formula 1 and with McLaren. A P12 in Australia was a solid platform to build on for the 19-year-old, and then a P6 in Bahrain was brilliant for the rookie. However, last time out in China, Norris was forced to retire from the race with not long to go.

Asked by Race Fans how different real F1 races are to the simulations he used to do, prior to his promotion, Norris replied: "I think the hard thing in the practice and pre-season testing and everything is knowing how much to push and not to push.

"Especially for my first time doing a race sim in Barcelona, knowing how hard to push with a full tank of fuel, tyres that drop off a lot both in wear but also thermally, it's always hard to judge. Sometimes you have loads of tyre deg and you think 'oh no, this is going to be terrible'.

"When you're in a race you obviously gauge yourself much more of other drivers around and it's easier to know what they're doing and what you have to do to make changes and save the tyres more, save the tyres less. So, it is very different.

"As a whole experience the pressure is on a lot more. It's what counts on the Sunday, rather than pre-season testing (where) you can do a lock-up, a little mistake, it's like 'that's nothing'.

"But if you do it on a Sunday, you lose a place or you have to box for a flat-spot or something like that, then it's a much bigger problem. So altogether, it's a lot more pressure, you have to think about a lot more things when it comes to the race itself rather than in pre-season when it's a bit more relaxed."