McLaren realised it had missed its performance targets over the winter so sought to play down expectations pre-season, and it only scored points in three of the opening eight rounds.
But after floor tweaks in Azerbaijan, team principal Andrea Stella vowed that “pretty much every single aerodynamic part” on the MCL60 would change via a three-stage upgrade plan that began with the Austrian Grand Prix.
This paved the way for four second place finishes for Norris plus a podium for rookie Oscar Piastri in Japan. Despite this massive uptick that has left the team targeting overtaking Aston Martin for fourth in the constructors’ standings, Norris believes the toughest task is to come.
The Brit has now called on McLaren to improve the handling of its cars, rather than chase pure lap time, after struggling to drive his natural style since stepping up to the F1 team in 2018.
Asked what comes next, Norris replied: “A lot of it is small details which make this big difference. Smaller details in terms of making the driver a bit happier rather than just making the car quick.
“But this one of making the car a bit more driveable, a bit more rounded, is almost the hardest task to achieve because it's so difficult to do this without compromise.
“It's such a difficult thing to have the front end good here, but then it not be too strong on the exit because then the rear needs to be better.
“It's more like a juggling act rather than just adding things everywhere. The juggling act is one that's very difficult to achieve.”
Norris backs McLaren and its restructured technical department to step up to the task, adding that he has more confidence in the team than ever before.
Source: Autosport