Norris: 'We are miles behind Red Bull and Mercedes'

The past two races in Monza and Sochi McLaren was suddenly very fast. In Monza, Daniel Ricciardo won and last weekend in Sochi Lando Norris took pole position and led the Russian Grand Prix until just before the end.

Norris warns that the team is still not on the same level as Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. "No, we are miles behind them", Norris judges after the Sochi disappointment at Motorsport-Total.com. "It's difficult because we could have had the best result in Formula One and I could have won a race. In the end, I finished seventh. It's especially hard because I feel like I've lost something and that breaks my heart - not because I've done anything stupid."

The Briton drove on when it started to rain and ended up coming in too late for a change to the intermediate tyres. This gave Lewis Hamilton the chance to win the race. Ricciardo even finished ahead of Norris in fourth place.

'We still have shortcomings'

The past two circuits suited the McLaren car very well. They are expected to be slower in Turkey compared to Mercedes and Red Bull. "Of course, compared to the teams ahead of us in the championship, we still have shortcomings in all areas, I would say. That's why it's also important to analyse what could have been better after a weekend like Monza or after the pole position in Sochi", Andreas Seidl told the website.

"We are in the middle of a journey that will take us back to the top of Formula 1," the McLaren team boss continued. "We have a clear plan of what we need to do on an infrastructural, organisational and cultural level to take the next steps so that we can compete at the front every weekend."