Despite McLaren's disappointing end to 2021, Lando Norris believes the skirmishes with Ferrari along the way were beneficial to both teams.
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McLaren finished behind Ferrari for the final slot in the F1 Constructors’ podium in 2021, but driver Lando Norris believes the strong competition between the two teams was good to both teams. Although McLaren and Ferrari separated themselves from their midfield competitors early in the 2021 season, the Woking-based team held a significant advantage over the Scuderia by the time F1’s summer break arrived.
However, a string of mediocre results, punctuated by the team’s astonishing 1-2 at Monza, allowing Ferrari to close the gap on its opponent and cross the finish line in Abu Dhabi with a 48.5-point lead. Despite McLaren’s poor result, Norris believes the skirmishes with the House of Maranello’s vehicles along the way were beneficial to both teams.
“I would say it has helped quite a bit,” said the Briton, quoted by Motorsport.com.
“Just being with that mentality, them keeping us on our toes, keeping us pushing, trying to find these smallest bits of lap time. It is easy at times to get complacent and take your mind off of it, especially if you are on your own, the third-quickest car with nobody ahead or behind you. There are ways to fall into that trap, so I think it has been good for us. The same for them – not an easy year for them, so I think it has benefitted both of us.”
McLaren was unable to maintain its position as the third best team on the Formula One grid. However, Norris argues that the squad had a better season than in 2020 on all criteria.
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“I would say it has been a tough season and I still believe we’ve had a much better season than we did last year,” he ensured.
“We are closer to the front, and the gap to the rest is also much bigger, apart from Ferrari. It has still been a very good season, and not just in terms of results and points, but also how we worked together as a team and how we maximised things. I think we are in a better position for next year when we are going to be racing them more often and hopefully the guys at the front more often too.”
Laurent Mekies, Ferrari’s sporting director, concurred with Norris, citing the impact of the Scuderia’s close rivalry with McLaren.
It’s a very good team to fight against,” he said. “They’ve had some fantastic moments, they won Monza, they could have won Sochi. They are very, very competitive. They are also in a very good dynamic themselves.”
“So it was a good challenge. And yes, it’s a challenge where you need to make fewer mistakes than them. You need to put more of these small details together if you want to beat them. It is ultimately the same thing that is happening for the top two positions. It’s the same dynamic. The points loss costs you the same, and therefore, it was a good, it is a good training for that for the team,” he added.
