Unlike other teams, McLaren did not split driving duties, with Norris driving the MCL36 for the entire day.
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McLaren driver Lando Norris compared driving the new 2022 Formula One cars felt a tad ‘sluggish’ Following a brief shakedown the week before, Norris’ preparations for the new season gathered more pace on Wednesday, as Formula 1’s group shakedown began at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Unlike other teams, McLaren did not split driving duties, with Norris driving the MCL36 for the entire day. He completed 103 laps and set the fastest time on the C4 Pirelli tyres with a 1:19.568.
The first pre-season test, however, is not about who can set the fastest lap time, though there is no harm in doing so; it is about reliability and giving the drivers track time to adjust to the all-new cars. This season’s cars are heavier than last year’s, up from 752kg to 795kg, and Norris claims this has resulted in a sluggish drive.
Read More – Lando Norris downplays expectations after topping charts on Day 1 of pre-season testing
“The weight makes a massive difference for just the driving, how the car reacts,” Norris said. “It’s a lot heavier than it was last season. So it just feels a bit slower, a bit more sluggish. It’s like running with the race fuel of last season before almost a qualifying lap in a way. You do feel it in like the braking and certain areas. The performance is not quite the same.”
“But it shouldn’t be too long (to adjust) and I think by the end of the day, you’re a little bit more used to it and it feels almost normal again,” the Brit added.
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In terms of his fastest lap time, the McLaren driver said that he would rather be last as it would only raise expectations. “I didn’t want to be P1, if anything I’d rather be last,” he said. “Because now the expectations are so high, and everyone thinks we’re incredible. I think we just had a slightly different run plan to the other people. We’ll see in the next few days, people will probably go much quicker than what I did.”
“I’m happy, the car was running, we did over 100 laps in the end. I can be happy enough. But today is obviously not about the lap time. I don’t care if I’m first or last – I think if anything it’s worse if you’re in first because now everyone thinks we’re amazingly fast, which I don’t really reckon we are,” he concluded.
