Lando Norris says ‘areas we need to improve’ to match favoured Red Bull power unit

Lando Norris said there were “certainly areas we need to improve” when discussing McLaren and Mercedes’ power unit with suggestions the Red Bull/Ford engine is ahead.

Testing talk is never something to be taken too seriously but the gossip around the paddock is that Red Bull has produced the strongest power unit, overtaking Mercedes who was favoured at the Barcelona test.

Lando Norris says work to do to match Red Bull

This year more than ever it would seem, chassis manufacturers are dependent on how good a job their engine suppliers did and with Mercedes High Performance Powertrains in the back of eight cars this year, the performance of that engine will have a bigger influence than any other.

Mercedes’ team principal has already tried to big up the performance of the Red Bull Ford Powertrain, suggesting it was a second ahead of the opposition.

“They are able to deploy far more energy on the straights than everybody else,” Wolff told the media in Bahrain. “You are speaking a second, over consecutive laps.

“On a single lap we have seen it before, but now we have seen it on 10 consecutive laps with the same kind of straight-line deployment.

“I would say that as per today, on the first official day of testing, which is always with the caveat of that, they have set the benchmark.”

Norris, whose McLaren car is one of four constructors powered by Mercedes, said both his team and HPP needed to understand how Red Bull is extracting such performance.

“They have a very good power unit by the looks of things,” he said. “They deploy and have a lot of efficiency.

More on the power unit topic from PlanetF1.com

* Bahrain telemetry suggests Red Bull engine edge after Wolff claim
* Carlos Sainz backs Toto Wolff: Red Bull Powertrains setting F1 2026 benchmark
* Red Bull RB22 ‘a second a lap’ faster on straights as new ‘benchmark’ emerges

“We need to understand how they have that. There’s always things I can maybe do a little bit, there’s some things on the McLaren side we can do a little bit, but also from McLaren, HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] side, and Mercedes, I think that they know there’s certainly areas we need to improve.

“But the Red Bulls seem to have done a very good job, and the Ford powertrain seems to be very strong. Fair play to them. But, at the minute, they’re a good step ahead of us.”

Max Verstappen, who would stand to gain the most from a Red Bull power advantage, is not believing the praise from his rivals though and suggested Wolff’s words were “diversion tactics”.

“I mean, let’s look back at the last 10 years of winter testing. I don’t think you can say who is the World Champion on day one, especially with a new rule set like this,” said Verstappen.

“For me personally, it’s more just like diversion tactics.

“But that’s okay. I focus on what we’re doing here with the team, because honestly, for us, there’s still so much to learn, these new rules that are so complex.”

Read next: Why Max Verstappen’s criticisms of energy-starved F1 is premature