McLaren junior driver Lando Norris managed to clock the second fastest time of the final day of testing in Hungary after what he described as a ‘productive day’.
Whilst familiarising himself with the MCL32, Norris completed a range of programmes ranging from single lap runs, setup changes and longer race stints as the day progressed; the focus was on handling, balance and stability evaluations as well as aero correlation.
“Today has been a very exciting day for me, and something I’ve looked forward to for quite some time,” Norris said.
“It’s been a really good day – and a very productive one for all of us. I managed to get through all the tests that the team asked me to complete, and everything went well.
“Getting used to the car was a bit of a challenge at first, but by the end of the day I felt very comfortable. I got a lot of laps under my belt and I really enjoyed the experience.”
Despite a small spin out on track before lunch, Norris did no damage to the car and eventually racked up an impressive 91 laps on his official testing debut for the team without an issue.
His efforts didn’t go unnoticed by McLaren’s team boss Eric Boullier, the Frenchman said: “I’m pleased to say that today was another very productive and useful day, for both McLaren Honda and Lando Norris.
“We’ve completed a good number of laps with no major issues, and we’ve made great progress with our test programme.
“Lando has impressed us all with his maturity, professionalism and speed, and has got to grips very quickly with the car in only his first outing in the MCL32.
“His feedback with the engineers has been valuable and accurate, and he’s certainly an asset to our test driver line-up – not to mention a potential star of the future.”
