Lando Norris now believes it’s “definitely” possible that McLaren can pip Aston Martin to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship by the end of this season.
McLaren opened the year braced for a tough start after conceding it had missed development targets with its MCL60 car, resulting in a mass technical restructuring.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin, a fellow Mercedes engine customer, began the campaign by accruing six podiums in the first eight races with its transformed AMR23 charger.
However, the two teams’ fortunes have massively swung since McLaren started introducing a series of upgrades from the Austrian Grand Prix in July onwards.
While McLaren has scored five podiums since that round – including a double top-three finish last Sunday at Suzuka – Aston Martin has only recorded one top-three finish across the previous nine rounds.
Consequently, the Woking-based squad have cut what was a 137-point deficit to its Silverstone counterparts after Canada to only 49 with six rounds still remaining.
Asked if he now thinks McLaren can beat Aston Martin in the championship, Norris said: “I didn’t think it was that close. But yeah, if it’s 49, then I definitely think so. There’s not many races left. I’m sure there’s going to be a couple where Aston are going to be a bit stronger.”
Norris also asserts that McLaren’s prospects of improving its current position in the standings will be aided by having both drivers contribute to the team’s points tally.
Rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri has regularly been a close match for Norris in qualifying and converted second on the grid in Japan to his maiden podium on Sunday.
But while Alonso has thrived for Aston Martin, reaching Q3 at every round this year to date, Lance Stroll has increasingly struggled and sits a considerable 143 points behind the two-time World Champion.
“But I think our advantage at the minute comparing to almost every team, bar a couple, is we have two drivers who are up there fighting for these positions and fighting for this points,” he continued. “And not every team has that at the minute. So I think that’s helping us.
“We can help one another, we can use one another, and I think that’s a good advantage we have over a lot of other teams at the minute. So we’re on an upward trend.
“We’re making good progress and days like today prove exactly that. Even though I know there’s going to be maybe some tougher races coming up at times and maybe not as straightforward as today but the progress we’ve made this season has been pretty incredible from my eyes and from where we were, to finishing 18 seconds behind the lead or 19 seconds is I think evidence of exactly that. So I’m proud of everyone and we’ll keep pushing.”
Providing the two teams continue scoring at the same rate since Austria McLaren would overhaul Aston Martin when the chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi by 17 points.
Norris’ fourth podium of the year saw him tie George Russell on points in the Drivers’ standings, with the Briton only 20 points behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who is a further 15 behind team-mate Carlos Sainz.
