Norris refuses to be drawn into ‘comparisons’ with Mercedes, Ferrari

Lando Norris says he’s not interested in making comparisons after McLaren found itself behind Mercedes and Ferrari when it came to the numbers that mattered at the Barcelona shakedown.

Reigning champion Norris began his on-track preparation work for his title defence at the Circuit de Catalunya where McLaren took to the track on the final three days of the five-day shakedown, with teams limited to just three days of running.

McLaren behind rivals in times and lap count in Barcelona

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McLaren confirmed the decision in the days before the shakedown, telling PlanetF1.com and other select media that it would delay its running to give the team “as much time as possible for development”.

Norris ventured out of the garage on Wednesday, putting in 76 laps before handing the car over to Oscar Piastri for Day Four, with the teammates splitting the driving duties as the shakedown concluded on Friday.

McLaren finished with 291 laps on the board, down on the benchmark of 500 laps that was set by Mercedes. Ferrari covered the second most laps, 442.

Mercedes and Ferrari traded positions when it came to the lap times, Ferrari up in P1 after Lewis Hamilton posted a 1:16.348 on the final afternoon to beat George Russell’s best time from Thursday, Mercedes’ last day on track, by a tenth of a second.

As for McLaren, Norris finished the shakedown third fastest on the overall timesheet with a 1:16.594, 0.246s slower than Hamilton.

More on McLaren’s performance at the Barcelona shakedown

F1 results: Unofficial numbers from the Barcelona shakedown

Shakedown conclusions: Mercedes back in the light, Red Bull finds peace, key Newey question

But while the numbers favour Mercedes and Ferrari, Norris says he won’t be drawn into “comparisons” as it is still early days with the all-new cars.

“I think it’s so easy to get caught up into comparisons,” he told F1TV.

“It’s just because we’re all competitive, so you always want to see yourself doing well and feel like you can be quick.”

Instead, focusing on McLaren’s learning from its three days on track, the Briton says the Woking team gained a better understanding of its MCL40 over the course of the shakedown.

“I think we understood a lot, both in low-fuel stuff and high-fuel stuff, and the tyres,” he continued.

“Yeah, what we came here to do really.

“It’s to understand the car, especially from a reliability point of view, make sure that all the sensors are working as they should, the PU is working as they should, gearbox, whatever it is. Everything just doing as we expect, because reliability is one of the most important things.

“A lot of it is from that side, and a lot of it is stuff over the next few days and weeks that the team will look into and try to improve and make better.”

As for his side, Norris revealed there are a few things he needs to change to be comfortable in the car and with its handling.

“From my side,” he said of his focus in the days after the test, “just to get back comfortable with the car. Some little bits I need to change here and there, but otherwise, it still feels like a race car, still feels fast and still enjoyable.

“It’s alright. Every year there is a certain amount of stuff that is different and you have to get used to. It’s certainly one of the biggest changes I’ve had to get used to.

“Figuring it out. It still takes time.

“We understand the outlines of it, how things are going to be working. So I’m happy. I’m happy. It’s just nice to be back in the car again. That feeling of G-force.”

McLaren will be back on track later this month for the first official pre-season test.

That takes place at the Sakhir International Circuit from 11-13 February, with three more days of running scheduled for 18-20 February.

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