The Formula 1 paddock arrived at the Baku City Circuit this weekend. Red Bull has been bleeding for the first time so far, but McLaren are not very confident of repeating their heroics in Monaco. In fact, Lando Norris has admitted that Ferrari, AlphaTauri and Alpine are way ahead of them.
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He said: “I think AlphaTauri, Alpine and McLaren seem very close. Ferrari and Red Bull are way ahead of us. So it won’t be easy. Our main goal will be to get to the third qualifying phase and we’ll see what we can do from there. “
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So far, McLaren seems to be doing a decent job as Norris was consistently in the top 10. Daniel Ricciardo was in the top 10 twice. This just goes to show that McLaren has steadily improved over the past couple of years.
What can Lando Norris expect from qualifying?
As already mentioned, both Norris and Ricciardo were in the top 10 in training. So, in the best possible scenario, you can expect a top 10 finish for both cars. Ricciardo was still unable to keep up with his younger teammate, however, so there is a chance that he could be in 2nd
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Formula 1 F1 – Monaco Grand Prix – Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco – May 20, 2021 McLarens Lando Norris in action during practice REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes
On the other hand, the Australian will be determined not to be overwhelmed by his teammate. This is a matter of pride for the 31-year-old as he is much more experienced than Norris. If you consider that the Briton already has two podium places, you will probably rub him in the wrong direction.
On the other hand, it might motivate him to perform better and try to keep up with his partner. Ricciardo initially struggled to get his MCL35M under control. However, he’s got used to the car and hopefully will start to be more competitive.
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https://formulaone.news/mclaren/what-the-teams-said-friday-in-azerbaijan
