Lando Norris believes McLaren can contest consistent podium finishes in Formula 1 in 2024 once the team rectifies its “significant” slow-speed performance deficit.
Norris landed McLaren’s first podium finish in Australia in 10 years, with team-mate Oscar Piastri taking fourth to deliver the team’s best start to a season since 2012.
Both drivers admitted it provided an encouraging indication that McLaren’s MCL38 car was competitive enough at Albert Park to keep Ferrari honest through the race.
Having dropped behind Charles Leclerc through the opening pit stops, Norris reiterated his stance that he had the pace to split the Italian marque’s drivers in the order.
“I think we expected good pace, but maybe not to keep up with Charles; honestly, I would say our pace was probably a bit better than Charles today,” Norris told McLaren.
“It is clear that they have a car that is quicker than us, so for us to be able to compete against them, to compete against the Ferrari, it shows very good signs for us.
“A positive day and a good load of points, therefore, we can’t be any happier.”
Piastri added: “We were a bit quicker than we expected, we could hang with the Ferraris and that was a positive surprise.
“Obviously, Max [Verstappen] went out early, and I was surprised Checo [Sergio Perez] wasn’t a bit quicker, but this was a good result, I am happy with that.
“I think the fact that we were able to stay pretty close to Ferrari was a great sign, so I am excited for the future.”
McLaren’s strength in high-speed corners has been accentuated since the British outfit’s mid-season upgrades last term propelled it back into front-running contention.
The Woking-based squad expects an even more competitive weekend at the fast and flowing Suzuka circuit, where Norris and Piastri landed a double podium in 2023.
However, Norris concedes that slow-speed cornering remains a weakness the team must strive to improve to challenge the likes of Ferrari on every track configuration.
“If we look back to Suzuka last year, it was one of our best weekends: two cars on the podium, just the Red Bull ahead of us,” the Briton assessed.
“I think it is clear that Red Bull are maybe two steps ahead of us and Ferrari one step, but when you get to a track that suits us, then I think we can be confident.
“We are very strong in the high-speed corners, which is why we were good here, but we lose a significant amount of time in the slow-speed corners. If we can improve on that just a little bit, then most weekends I would say I would be confident that we could compete for podiums and good points.
“We are missing a few little things, but we are working and as soon as we do that, things will click.”
