Lando Norris has contended he is expecting McLaren’s advantage to be “lessened” at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but that is not a view shared among his Formula 1 rivals.
McLaren’s unbeaten opening to the campaign was dispelled in Japan last weekend as an astonishing Max Verstappen showing saw the reigning F1 champion prevail.
But the Dutchman’s win owed much to retaining track position on a circuit where overtaking was limited due to the minimal degradation that was prevalent at Suzuka.
Indeed, McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted the resurfaced track curbed McLaren’s potential as it nullified the advantage it holds when it comes to tyre preservation.
That is not poised to be a hindrance with the high temperatures and abrasive asphalt present in Bahrain, though, which has caused the opposition to express concern.
George Russell, who has implied that McLaren has both championships wrapped up, has suggested the Woking-based squad’s true margin will be seen this weekend.
“This is where I expect McLaren to come into their own; I expect them to be very quick on the high degradation, hot tracks,” Russell told media including Motorsport Week.
Verstappen admits Bahrain ‘not ideal’ for Red Bull
There is substance to Russell’s claim as it was Norris’ ominous-looking race simulation during pre-season testing in Sakhir that outlined McLaren as the team to beat.
But while that transpired in conditions much cooler than anticipated this weekend, McLaren’s advantage growing as a stint progresses was also exhibited in Australia.
Asked whether this race will provide a litmus test on McLaren’s strength with tyre usage compared to the competition, Verstappen responded: “It will be more severe.
“I mean, the first stint in Australia, we got destroyed. Also with the overheating and the deg in general. Same in China.
“I would say to a certain extent also in Suzuka, when you can’t pass, and Lando was close enough in that first stint again, and I knew that was coming, and I was just trying to go at my own pace, but I think because the track temp dropped quite a bit on the day, that helped a bit.
“And here, yeah, it’s going to be hot. Of course, we’re driving at night, so we’ll cool down a little bit, but it’s still hot; aggressive tarmac.
“So, on paper, from what we’ve seen, you know, so far this season, that’s not as ideal for us compared to McLaren.
“But, yeah, it’s up to us, of course, to try and find those improvements in the car or the tyre behaviour, and just, yeah, go from there.”
Norris downplays opposition concern
Norris, though, has predicted that Bahrain’s slow-speed corners will expose a weakness with the MCL39 that will negate the edge that McLaren possesses elsewhere.
“Honestly, I go in with no expectations whatsoever,” Norris retorted. “I don’t need that weight on my shoulders. I don’t care about any of these things.
“For me at the minute, I care about tomorrow, my preparation today to go into practice one and figure out what’s the best tyres, what feels good, what feels bad.
“Like I said at the beginning, some of the things that we’re trying on the car to get my feelings back into a better position. That’s also a priority for me tomorrow.
“I don’t need any expectations of what to expect going into a weekend. I just have my general expectations which I don’t think will have a big advantage here.
“I think our advantage will be lessened compared to previous weekends. A trickier track, a slower speed circuit which has not been as favourable for us.
“It’s where the car is in a trickier state compared to what we had potentially last year.
“I still just expect a good competition from Ferrari, Mercedes and I even think the midfield pack will probably be a bit closer to us this weekend.
“I expect a difficult weekend. I don’t expect any easy ones. Yes, the car is good and yes, the team are doing an amazing job, but it’s close like we’ve seen the past few weekends.
“Red Bull also have a good car and Max is Max. We still have Charles [Leclerc] and Lewis [Hamilton] and the other guys around. I still expect a tough competition.”
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