Norris deems 'flying' Ferrari 'a big threat' to McLaren

Lando Norris considers Ferrari as the biggest threat to McLaren's ambition of remaining the third best team on the grid this season, insisting the Scuderia had the outright speed to beat the Woking-based outfit in Styria.

McLaren and Ferrari have been trading places at the top of the midfield battle and only 12 points currently separate the two teams in the Constructors' standings, with the papaya squad currently holding the advantage.

But Norris, who finished just ahead of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in last Sunday's race, believes the Scuderia will have the better car at some upcoming venues.

"They are a little bit up and down," said the McLaren driver whose consistency has put him fourth in the Drivers' championship.

"It is not like they’re in trouble at every race. Paul Ricard was particularly bad for them. But a lot of tracks will suit them more than us.

"They struggle in the straights still. But on the GPS they are one of the best in the corners, similar to Mercedes. They are a big threat at the moment.

"We are still working hard, that is why we are not taking anything for granted at the moment.

"We have to keep chipping away and improving the car because once they [Ferrari] put it all together they can easily be ahead of us. It’s tough.

"Most of the time this year they have out qualified us, and they have been on pole two or three times. It shows that they have a very good car.

"As soon as they sort their problems in the race then they are flying. In some ways you would say they have a better car than us in certain scenarios and tracks and situations."

• Read also: Norris now 'as fast as anyone on the grid' – Brown

Norris reckons he owed to circumstances to finish ahead of Sainz in the Styrian Grand Prix.

"[Sainz] came from a long way back," he said. "I knew he was behind me, at some point in the race where he was ahead of me, and he had not stopped yet.

"I knew he was going to be very fast at the end [of the race] because it is the same strategy he did with us in 2019.

"So a little bit expected from him, which is of course okay, but if they started behind us they probably could’ve finished ahead or been a lot more of a threat."

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