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McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown says it is time for Lando Norris to ditch the rookie mentality and challenge new team mate Daniel Ricciardo.
The Briton made his Formula 1 debut in 2019, but although he now has two years of Formula 1 experience under his belt, Norris is still very much seen as one of the rookie drivers on the grid, still aged only 21.
But, as quoted by GPFans.com, Brown feels it is time for Lando to no longer be a rookie , and take the fight to his new team mate Ricciardo, a seven-time race winner who arrives from Renault.
Brown said: This year will be his third year. Clearly, Daniel has a lot more experience, but I think it s time for Lando to no longer be a rookie. It ll be a less experienced driver than Daniel, but I expect them to push each other extremely hard, and I think Lando will continue to grow with having someone like Daniel as his team mate.
McLaren fire up the MCL35M for the first time
Date published:
January 27 2021
McLaren’s return to Mercedes power just became a whole lot more real after their 2021 challenger roared into life.
It is safe to say that McLaren have followed a bumpy path full of highs and lows since they first moved on from Mercedes following the 2014 campaign.
Fearing they couldn’t compete at the top of Formula 1 as a customer team, McLaren tried to rekindle their past glory with Honda, but that experiment failed and the relationship came to an end after just three seasons.
Following the switch to Renault the situation then slowly began to improve, and by 2019 McLaren had recovered to P4 in the Constructors’ Championship, going a step better with P3 in 2020.
AlphaTauri faster than Ferrari, but failed to land P6
Date published:
January 26 2021
AlphaTauri technical director Jody Egginton has revealed the team’s frustration over not getting the better of Ferrari in 2020.
Ferrari found themselves well off the pace in 2020, slipping away from the battle at the top with Mercedes and Red Bull and landing in the lower reaches of the midfield pack.
An improvement in the second-half of the season briefly sparked hopes of a shot at P3 in the Constructors’ Championship, but the Scuderia were instead forced to make do with P6, their worst showing since 1980.
Finishing behind them in P7 were AlphaTauri, 24 points adrift of their fellow Italian outfit, but AlphaTauri felt they had the faster car, and so failed to “accomplish the feat” of taking P6 in the standings for themselves.
‘Horner’s Max is the best teasing is part of the game’
Date published:
January 25 2021
Christian Horner’s claims that George Russell’s Sakhir Grand Prix performance showed that Max Verstappen is the “best” driver on the grid is “part of the game”.
That’s according to Toto Wolff.
Although Sir Lewis Hamilton wrapped up a record-equalling seventh Drivers’ Championship title in 2020, a season in which Verstappen managed just two race wins, Horner believe he has the “best” driver on the grid in Verstappen.
And he feels Russell’s near-miss at the Sakhir GP, a race in which he filled in for Hamilton when the reigning champ tested positive, proved that.