Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Friday 25 February

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, as well as Team Principal Andreas Seidl after Day 3 of the pre-season test.

LANDO NORRIS, #4

“It’s been a good week and start to the year. Many things have gone well. Of course, a couple of problems here and there but we’ve got through a lot of our test programmes, and we’ve understood the car more. As a driver, I’ve been able to get comfortable with the car nice and quickly. Our focus now moves onto learning and reviewing everything we put together and tested, to try to make progress going into Bahrain, and make sure we’re ready for the first race of the season.

“A massive thanks to the team for getting the car ready. I don’t think we’ve had as many problems as a lot of other teams. We’ve had a reliable car and a good car so far that has given me the confidence, so all the hard work is paying off at the minute. We need to keep it up and keep pushing.”

DANIEL RICCIARDO, #3

“It was good to get a little bit of wet running, there was quite a lot to learn from that. We then got into a different programme to yesterday where we racked up plenty of laps, which was really productive. Now it’s about giving that information back to the team and trying to build on this positive start.

“I think we’re in a good spot, but there’s always something to work on and improve. So, we’ll give the team some data to work with and some areas of work to do, I'll focus on what I can keep doing better. Overall, a pretty flawless three days for the team, a really awesome start to the season. Thanks to everyone back at MTC for putting the hard work in over the winter to put us in this position.”

ANDREAS SEIDL, Team Principal

“It’s been a productive first three days for us in Barcelona, and we leave Spain with plenty of data to analyse before we head to Bahrain for the official pre-season test and Grand Prix.

“As a team, we’ve been able maximise our running time with both drivers running a total of 365 laps over the three days. We’re pleased with the amount of work we’ve been able to complete to help us get a better understanding of the MCL36.

“The team, both in Barcelona and back at McLaren Technology Centre, alongside our colleagues at Mercedes HPP have done an excellent job to deliver a reliable car across testing. The hard work from the entire team has been crucial in enabling us to achieve our objectives.

“Thanks to Lando and Daniel for their tireless work and valuable feedback. To step straight back into the car and complete more than 150 each laps isn’t easy to do, and they’ve given the team back in Woking plenty of direction as to how the car can be continuously improved.

“Despite the significant regulation change, the competition is looking very tight between the teams. There doesn’t appear to be any clear leader or backmarker at this stage, even though there are a wide range of philosophies and solutions up and down the grid. We look forward to heading to Bahrain, where we will further gather data to help us develop the car before kicking off the 2022 season in just under a month’s time.”

Today's official testing times

What's next?

The first pre-season test has now concluded. The MCL36 will return to the track in Bahrain on Thursday 10 March for the first day of the second test.

Test dates

Three days (Wednesday 23 - Friday 25 February 2022). 

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