Following the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix, McLaren speedsters–Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri–crossed the chequered flag with an impressive run, signaling a good start to the season. This impressive result is miles ahead than their last season’s spell at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Despite a strong performance at the Bahrain GP, McLaren #1 Lando Norris remains concerned over an unresolved issue in their MCL38 racing machine.
Lando Norris talks on Bahrain GP performance
Lando Norris–McLaren’s British-Belgian racer who signed an extension with the team only last month–has revealed that the team’s low-speed struggle from last season is still unresolved in the upgraded MCL38 F1 challenger- despite grabbing a satisfying result with the car at the Bahrain GP.
In a post-race interview, Lando Norris expressed his concerns over this ‘unresolved’ low-speed issue of the MCL38, by saying, “It’s no different to last year. Those things we’ve not been able to tackle, other things which make us so up and down every weekend.”
“It’s something I think that made us struggle so much today and the wind changed. Some corners just felt shockingly bad compared to yesterday. I think it’s clear there are still a lot of areas we need to focus on if we want to be more consistent and challenge,” Norris added, emphasizing on improving the MCL38.
Singling out the Sakhir circuit as McLaren’s ‘hard-to-tame’ track, he added, “But considering it’s a track we struggle with still, the fact we’re so close to Mercedes is still a good sign for us that at some tracks we’ll be able to be ahead.”
“I’m confident, the team is doing a good job and it’s a good starting position,” the Briton concluded, ending on a positive note.
Lando Norris’ words of ‘mixed-up’ feelings comes after the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he and partner Oscar Piastri delivered a ‘hard-fought’ and satisfying result for the Orange Outfits.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s performance at Bahrain GP
As the red lights of the Sakhir Circuit went out, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri started the race from P7 and P8—positions earned through their satisfying results in the qualifying rounds—on the grid.
At the Bahrain GP’s end, Mclaren saw their speedsters cross the chequered flag of the Sakhir Circuit with impressive results: Lando Norris finished at P6 and Oscar Piastri earned P8.
The McLaren duos put forth impressive lap times on the timing sheets as well. Lando Noriss recorded 1:32:33.2 hrs–1.67s later than George Russell and 1.866s earlier than the 7x F1 champion Lewis Hamilton–and Oscar Piastri secured a lap time of 1:32:40.824 hrs.
In addition to the impressive individual results, McLaren secured a total of 12 points from the Bahrain GP—8 points from Lando Norris and 4 from Piastri—and currently holds the 4th spot in the 2024 Constructor’s Championship. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will once again take the ‘unresolved’ MCL38 to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on 9th March for the Saudi Arabian GP.
Can McLaren cope up with the low-speed weakness in the MCL38 before the Saudi Arabian GP? Can Norris and Piastri tame the Jeddah Circuit, unlike the one at Sakhir? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
