While Mercedes and Red Bull comfortably took first and second places in this year’s overall standings, McLaren and Ferrari both made significant steps forward to close the gap to the front of the field.
McLaren posted a 1-2 result at Monza, while Ferrari took five podiums and two poles over the course of the year as the battle for third in the constructors’ championship went to the final race of the season.
A strong end of the year finally gave Ferrari P3 with 47.5 points in the final standings, but both teams felt the fight had helped them sharpen them up for a possible future fight.
PLUS: How Ferrari triumphed in the fight for the best in F1 in 2021
“I would say it helped a lot,” said McLaren driver Norris when asked by Autosport about the benefits of fighting Ferrari.
“Only with this mentality do they keep us on our toes, stop us and try to find the smallest lap times.
“Sometimes it’s easy to get complacent and get distracted, especially when you’re alone, the third fastest car with no one in front or behind you.
“There are ways to fall into that trap, so I think it was good for us. The same goes for her – not an easy year for her, so I think it has benefited both of us. “
Lando Norris, McLaren, shows thumbs up after securing third place on the grid
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Norris said he believed McLaren had a “much better season” despite slipping from third to fourth in the team standings. McLaren scored 275 points this season, compared to 202 in 2020.
“I would say it’s been a tough season and I still think we had a much better season than last year,” said Norris.
“We’re closer to the top, and apart from Ferrari, the gap to the rest is also much bigger. It was still a very good season, not just in terms of results and points, but also in terms of how we worked together as a team and got the most out of it.
“I think we will be better positioned for next year if we will drive more often with them and hopefully with the guys at the top more often.”
Both McLaren and Ferrari hope to use the upcoming revision of the technical regulations in 2022 to take another step forward that would allow them to challenge the top teams.
Ferrari Sporting Director Laurent Mekies agreed that the battle with McLaren had helped the team work on its operations and race executions, calling it “our world championship for this year”.
“We really focused on how we can use this year to get sharper and evolve as a racing team, evolving our tools and so on,” said Mekies.
“It’s a very good team to fight against. They had some fantastic moments, they won Monza, they could have won Sochi. They are very, very competitive. You are also in a very good dynamic yourself.
“So it was a good challenge. And yes, it’s a challenge that requires you to make fewer mistakes than them. You have to put more of these little details together if you want to hit them.
“In the end, it’s the same thing that happens for the first two places. It’s the same dynamic. Losing points costs you the same, so it was good training for the team. “
