“We’re probably the 7th or 8th quickest car” - Lando Norris reminds McLaren of reality with brutal assessment

Lando Norris has given a scathing review of McLaren's 2023 Formula 1 car.

At the recently concluded Spanish Grand Prix, Norris surprised everyone by putting his car on the second row in qualifying. However, luck deserted him on race day as he finished a lowly P17, a result he said was expected.

On the opening lap in Barcelona, Norris suffered front-wing damage after making contact with Lewis Hamilton’s rear left tyre. This forced him to make an early pitstop to take a new wing, resulting in him being stuck at the wrong end of the field for the rest of the race.

Norris, however, has insisted that he wouldn't have fared any better even if he did not damage his front wing on the opening lap.

“Obviously, lap 1 cost us everything. But at the same time, it would have been unlikely to finish in the top 10 today. We’re probably the 7th quickest car, or 8th quickest car. We’re not even fighting for points at that rate,” he said. (via formu1a.uno)

In a media interaction after the Spanish GP, Lando Norris stated that the team went into the race without any expectations, which gives an idea of their self-assessment.

“Yeah, the pace was as expected today, which was bad. I don’t think we expected anything else, really. Our aim was to maybe finish in the points, but we weren’t expecting anything like yesterday. We’re slow, we have been all year. I don’t know, there’s nothing else to say,” he said. (via wtf1)

The Briton chalked down his qualifying performance in Barcelona to a combination of good luck for him and bad luck for his competitors.

“Yesterday the cars weren’t any different, right, and just yesterday was a special day. Some good teams struggled a lot, and some of the worse teams did a better job, so it was just an odd day, people making a lot of mistakes, and we just capitalised on that,” he explained.

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Lewis Hamilton advises Lando Norris to ‘live and learn’

Lewis Hamilton had some kind words for his compatriot Lando Norris after the two drivers came together on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Their coming together did not affect Hamilton, who went on to finish second in the race. However, Lando Norris had to pit early for a front wing change, which saw him drop in places quickly.

Hamilton expressed sympathy for the McLaren driver during a post-race interview, saying:

"I think it was a sorrow for Lando because he did such an amazing job yesterday. It was great to see McLaren up there on the second row. I think if he was just a little bit more patient today he wouldve had probably a better result. But we live and learn," he said.