Lando Norris: “We were quite limited in Bahrain”

If the Barcelona tests a fortnight ago were conclusive, those in Bahrain were very different for McLaren. Can only count on Lando Norris after the positive test for Covid-19 de Daniel Ricciardo, the Woking team also encountered problems with the MCL36.

In addition to cooling and brake problems, McLaren was unable to complete the long stints at Sakhir, forcing Lando Norris to return to the garage after only a few laps. An unsuitable situation for the English structure less than a week before the start of the 2022 season.

« It's far from ideal, pointed out Lando Norris at the end of this last week of preparation. These tests were not the easiest for us. We have been quite limited in Bahrain. I think in Barcelona we were good but here we encountered a few more problems which limited the driving time »

Among the problems raised by the McLaren driver: lack of track time. “ We particularly had problems with long relays, he emphasizes. We were able to do the shorter ones and with less fuel but not the ones with a lot of fuel. We are not where we would have liked. We are behind this goal where we could have said that we were confident for the first race. It's not great but we do everything we can. We have clearly shown signs of progress but we are not where we want to be."

During the final day of testing in Bahrain, McLaren received new brakes for the MCL36, solving some of its problems. The British team now has a little less than a week to find a solution to the other concerns otherwise it does not ideally start the 2022 season.

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