Norris was one of the top performers in Formula 1 in 2021 with two podium places, taking third place in the drivers’ standings ahead of Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes.
Daniel Ricciardo has been vocal in his efforts to adapt to the McLaren MCL35M, but unlike Norris, he has tried hard to get the performance out of it.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, Norris says he had to make significant adjustments to his driving style for this season.
“This year the car is different and there are different things about the car,” said Norris. “You have to drive it differently. I now learn a lot about the car every time we race. Monaco was the best qualifying I’ve ever done and I’ve made mistakes in previous qualifying and races because I didn’t know enough about the car. I am still learning a lot of things.
On the subject of matching items
“Especially in Bahrain, for example in the first two races of the season, I drove too much like last year’s car. And I had to adapt a lot to this year’s car. There are definitely a lot of differences and it hasn’t been easy in the past two years up to this year.
“I can’t just drive like that and then just be a better driver. I had to adjust to a lot of different things and I still can’t drive it as early as I want to as a preference for how I’ve driven in Formula 3 and Formula 4 and such. I can’t drive it the way I want, so you have to adapt a bit. “
On the subject of matching items
Baku’s long straights are expected to favor McLaren.
Norris downplayed the team’s chances in the fight against Mercedes and Red Bull.
“We can be confident and optimistic that we can do well,” added Norris. “I don’t think we’re going to be anything extraordinary or unexpected. We have a good car and we showed that in the first five races of the season … that we have a decent car and most of the tracks.
“I don’t think we can confidently say that it will be faster than Mercedes or Red Bull, so we’ll do our best. We’ll keep our heads down and try to get another result like last week. “
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