7 March 2023 16:12 (UTC)
"We'll try to make another step tonight and we should be right in the mix tomorrow"
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Friday 30 April
Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, and Executive Director, Racing, Andrea Stella after Friday practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix.
FP1 | 1m20.635s (+0.987s) | 26 laps | 8th |
FP2 | 1m20.757s (+0.920s) | 28 laps | 12th |
"Not a perfect day, a couple of issues here and there which interrupted some of our running. It wasn't too bad, it just meant we didn't quite get through the run plan as easily as we wanted to. We definitely have some work to do overnight on some things. I think there’s some quite clear areas we can focus on that, if we improve them a little bit overnight, we can definitely find some performance. So, that’s our aim tonight, we’ll see if we can come back stronger tomorrow."
FP1 | 1m20.995s (+1.347s) | 31 laps | 12th |
FP2 | 1m20.418s (+0.581s) | 31 laps | 8th |
“It was a pretty good day in terms of my personal feeling in the car. I felt pretty comfortable from lap one this morning. The more laps I do, the better I feel, but it certainly felt like everything was more familiar when I hopped in the car today. I was ready to get on with it. I think we’re getting there.
“We were eighth this afternoon, so we’re definitely in the ballpark. I’ve still got a bit to find but we did make a small step forward for the afternoon session. We’ll try to make another step tonight and we should be right in the mix tomorrow.”
“Today, both practice sessions were very busy – the shortened 60-minute duration makes it quite challenging to get through the programme. In addition, here in Portugal, the conditions are quite testing because of the low-grip tarmac, the slow warm-up of the tyres and because of the wind, which make driving the car at the limit difficult. We had a very useful Friday and gathered good information on where we would like to improve the car overnight, and also on the likely behaviour of the tyres for the race. We’ll put it all together tonight, make some adjustments, and do our best tomorrow.”
McLaren Plus is our free-to-join fan loyalty programme, bringing McLaren fans closer to the team with the most inclusive, rewarding and open-to-all fan programmes in F1 & esports.
Sign up now, or current members can amend their details in the form below if necessary.
