03/06/2025 08:20
Lando Norris feels McLaren further underlined it has "the best car on the grid" after coming through the first weekend of a regulation change its F1 rivals hoped would peg them back. Following "a lot of complaints" last season, according to Norris, about McLaren's front-wing flex and 'mini-DRS' on the rear wing delivering a performance advantage, the FIA tightened up its rules. The rear wings were dealt with early in the season, with the front wings addressed for the Spanish Grand Prix, with the FIA demanding they be stiffened to pass load tests. McLaren's dominance of the current campaign, however, continued at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, with a front-row lockout spearheaded by championship leader Oscar Piastri followed by the Australian leading home Norris to the chequered flag. Asked whether there were tracks remaining on the calendar where McLaren would not be as dominant, Norris smiled and said: "I hope not!" Praising the team, in particular, for shutting down the noise from its rivals, Norris, speaking to media, including RacingNews365, added: "We have a lot of good competition. "There were a lot of complaints about our car, and they introduced this TD and [it has] changed nothing. The team has done a very good job to give us a good all-around car, the best car on the grid. "We're very proud to be able to drive those cars every weekend. It's credit to the team that we have to give day in and day out." McLaren 'vulnerable' It has often been recognised that if a car performs well in Barcelona, it should then do so at the majority of circuits that follow. Norris, however, does not doubt that there will be tracks where McLaren will be "vulnerable", notably in qualifying even if Piastri's gap to third-quickest Max Verstappen in his Red Bull of three-tenths of a second was the biggest across the nine races of the year so far. "People seem to quickly forget how close the other qualifying sessions have been," said Norris. "We've been split by hundredths and thousandths. There hasn't been smooth sailing for us in every single one. I think that will be the case in future ones. "But it's clear we just have the best car on average, and we still seem stronger in the race. Although, it's also clear that the others are catching up. "Our gaps in the race were probably a lot bigger in the beginning of the year than they are now. So I do think that our competitors are catching up. We just need to keep our heads down and keep working hard."
