The McLaren team was rocked by numerous issues during preseason testing in Bahrain last weekend, and with the first round of the year approaching, it seems both drivers can only hope for a midfield fight at this point.
A frustrated Norris said he fears the team didn’t ‘explore as many paths’ as they should have and that when they found the right setup for the new McLaren, it was too late.
Despite his disappointment, he and Oscar Piastri both have voiced their confidence in the team and say this weekend will give them a good idea of where they stand.
Speaking on Thursday, the team’s frontman said: “Hopefully we’re up there fighting for points.
“Maybe we didn’t explore as many paths as we should have done and when we got on the right path it was a little bit too late. We want to fight back to being a top team, it’s just frustrating we found it a little bit too late.
“I don’t think we’re in a terrible place. We’re not as bad as some people are expecting. We have some good things in the pipeline.”
His rookie teammate, Oscar Piastri, who is coined to be one of the best propects to enter into Formula 1 since Verstappen, said: “The test wasn’t the smoothest, but we’ll get a better understanding of where we’re at come tomorrow,” says rookie driver Oscar Piastri.
“We’re somewhere in the midfield and we’ll see exactly where we are Saturday night.”
