Lando Norris has raised eyebrows with his comments about Aston Martin’s performance. Norris has expressed his puzzlement at Aston Martin’s deteriorating form throughout the season, attributing it to a peculiar trend he’s observed. According to him, Aston Martin’s car has progressively become slower with each new upgrade they’ve introduced.
McLaren’s dramatic resurgence has been one of the season’s standout stories, culminating in their overtaking of Aston Martin for fourth place in the constructors’ championship at the United States Grand Prix. This achievement is all the more remarkable considering that, just four races earlier, McLaren was trailing their rivals by a significant 102-point margin.
Norris, who scored his fourth consecutive podium finish at the United States Grand Prix, commented on McLaren’s remarkable turnaround, saying, “We’re in a good rhythm.” He went on to express his bewilderment at Aston Martin’s plight, stating, “It’s been clear that Aston are just, I don’t know, they seem to have made their cars slower and slower with every upgrade that they brought.”
During the race in Austin, Norris finished second, albeit benefiting from two post-race disqualifications. In contrast, the only Aston Martin car that managed to cross the finish line was piloted by Lance Stroll, finishing in a lowly seventh place.
Norris commented on Aston Martin’s struggles, remarking, “They were out in Q1, and they’ve been struggling. So I don’t know what their issues are, but they were very strong, they got a lot of points in the first half of the season, and the second half they’ve been struggling. For us, it’s vice-versa.”
Reflecting on McLaren’s own journey this season, Norris acknowledged the challenges they faced at the start of the year. He stated, “When you look at where we were, how bad Bahrain was for us, how many seconds off pole we were, my six pit stops in the first race of the season, I lost my power unit straight away, so there’s things which put us on the back foot from the beginning.”
Despite their initial struggles, McLaren’s progress has been nothing short of remarkable. Norris pointed out, “When you look at where we are now, to be fighting against a Red Bull, who was an unrealistic target for almost anyone, and fighting against a Mercedes – as much as we are obviously disappointed that we couldn’t go for a race win, when you put it in perspective of where we were and how much we’ve improved, I think it’s still an amazing day for us.”
However, Norris also expressed reservations about McLaren’s chances of securing a race win this season, noting that the remaining tracks may not favor their car as much as the circuits they’ve recently visited. He specifically mentioned that Qatar presented their best opportunity for a victory, which he unfortunately missed out on.
Norris stated, “I don’t want to say ‘no,’ I don’t want to say ‘never,’ but there’s no super high-speed, Suzuka-style circuits left, Qatar-style circuits left, which is where we’re strong.” He continued, “If you look at the GPS and the overlays of how bad we are in the slow speed, I’m not looking forward to Brazil, I think we’re going to be pretty shocking there.”
In a glimmer of hope, Norris added, “Maybe Abu Dhabi, you never know. We’ll see. I don’t think there are any good ones for us coming up. I think our best have kind of gone.” Despite the challenges, Norris remains optimistic about McLaren’s potential to secure podium finishes, although he acknowledges that competitors like Verstappen and Hamilton have demonstrated greater speed throughout the season.