Norris: McLaren gap to Red Bull now down to 'small things'

Lando Norris believes that McLaren’s gap to reigning world champions Red Bull has narrowed down to “small things”, like split seconds of decision-making by team papaya.

Following his maiden victory in Miami and a thrilling pursuit of Max Verstappen in Imola, Norris nearly replicated claimed another success in Canada last time out.

The Briton held at one point a comfortable lead in Montreal’s mixed weather conditions, only to have his race winning ambitions dashed by the questionable timing of a strategic pit stop decision.

The McLaren charger believes such execution approximations, rather than performance differences, are what still separates his team from Red Bull, although he acknowledged the complexity of making the right call given the challenging circumstances.

“It’s not a huge amount. It’s small things, it’s just split seconds of decision-making and understanding,” he said.

“Montreal was a fairly, although it’s quite simple, it was also a fairly difficult decision with what the weather was doing and changing.

“So, it wasn’t as simple as just saying at the time we’ve easily made the wrong decision.

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“There were things we definitely could have done better and should have done better and we should have boxed, all of those things.

“It’s not just as easy as saying that, though, because there are other factors which led us to want to stay out and not necessarily box at the time.

“Like the weather, initially expected to be very bad coming in and actually got less and less and less rain, so if there was that little bit less, we could have stayed out like some drivers did and actually turned out to be still a good thing to do.

“So again, it wasn’t like we made the wrong decision, it was just the positioning we were in, certain other variables made it look worse against some of these other guys.

“But the fact I had like two seconds and the team had two seconds to decide at the time whether it was going to rain or not enough to stay out, it’s a complicated decision.”

Norris certainly wasn’t inclined to point the finger at his team for what was judged by many as a misstep, noting that McLaren has also exceeded its rivals in other areas.

“I really don’t think it’s a lot and I think there’s a lot of stuff we do better than other teams, better than Red Bull, better than Mercedes, better than other teams,” he said.

“It’s just certain times and certain situations, some are going to show our weaknesses and things that we should have done better.

“But at the same time, I think other teams have made mistakes and we’ve done a better job than other teams in certain areas too.”

While recent races have served as a testament to McLaren’s progress, Norris suggested that the Woking-based outfit still needs to refine the more stringent processes that come with racing at the sharper end of the field.

“Your mentality, even when you try to not make it or allow it, your mentality is always going to change, you’re always going to feel a little bit more pressure, a bit more nerves,” he explained.

“So, it’s more us having to step it up a little bit more than anything else. But again it’s small things here and there and it’s just piecing it all together a little bit more.

“But I think that’s coming, it comes with a bit of time and experience of just being back at the front and having to make these calls in quicker time.

“When we were fighting for eighth place and even Max’s case he had 15 seconds, 20 seconds to decide, do I box, do I not box, what’s Lando doing, that kind of thing.”

Importantly, Norris expresses his overall satisfaction with McLaren’s “work ethic” and dedication to improvement, reiterating his view that it’s all about getting the “small things” right.

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