McLaren drivers expect to step back on Saturday

“We seem fast today, but tomorrow things will return to normal” warns Lando Norris. The British driver was one of the good surprises of this first day of testing in Bahrain on Friday. He led his McLaren in third position during free practice 1 and second in free practice 2.

However, he believes that these times do not reflect the potential of the car. “It’s a surprise to be here, but I think we just showed more than the others. Of course we can be quite confident, but for my part, I don't find the car that good and I have made mistakes. I don't feel as good as I did last year. The question is what exactly is missing. »

His teammate Daniel Ricciardo, a little further back in 9th and 6th place in both sessions, feels the same. “The positions are encouraging, but clearly we are not 100%, we still need a lot of work and riding time to really feel confident and get rid of old habits. I can only improve over the sessions and races. »

Qualifying on Saturday afternoon will confirm or not the performance of the McLarens, although the British manufacturer expects to perform better at race pace.