Lando Norris admits McLaren’s best chances to score a Formula 1 victory this season “have gone” despite claiming a fourth consecutive podium in Austin.
Norris looked to be in contention during the United States Grand Prix when he leaped ahead of pole-sitter Charles Leclerc at the start and led for much of the first half of the race.
But he was unable to match the pace of eventual race winner Max Verstappen or Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who overtook Norris for second place in the closing stages.
Hamilton’s disqualification post-race meant Norris was promoted back up to second, earning him a third P2 finish in the last four races.
But despite another strong result, Norris felt his and McLaren’s hopes of a grand prix win in 2023 were now a long shot.
“Do I think our best chances have gone? I would say yes,” Norris said, as quoted by Motorsport.com. “I think Qatar was our best chance of winning a race. And I missed out on that one.
“I don’t want to say no, I don’t say like never. I think there’s no super high speed, Suzuka-style, Qatar-style circuits left which is where we’re strong.”
He added: “I don’t think they’re any good ones for us coming up. I think our best have gone.
“I just want to be hopeful that we can do good results and I think we can still fight for podiums but these guys are too quick for me.”
McLaren’s main weakness this year has been slow-speed corners, something that was troubling the team all weekend, particularly at COTA’s Turn 11.
Team principal Andrea Stella said it was no “surprise” that McLaren struggled at that corner that he revealed “has been addressed in development” for 2024 but won’t be cured on the current package.
The remaining four circuits in Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi all have a series of low-speed turns on their layouts, which Norris expects will hurt McLaren’s ultimate pace.
“If you looked at the GPS overlays of how bad we are in the slow speed [areas], I’m not looking forward to Brazil,” Norris explained.
“I think we’re going to be pretty shocking there. Vegas and Abu Dhabi are probably the better ones.”
