McLaren driver Lando Norris has said he believes Ferrari will continue to pose a threat to the Woking-based team over the remainder of the season despite the Scuderia struggling in the last two grand prix.
Ferrari and McLaren have been battling for third in the Constructors’ Championship from the get-go of the 2021 F1 season – and after eight races, McLaren have a 12-point lead over Ferrari in the standings.
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The Scuderia have struggled in the last two races – namely in Paul Ricard and last weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix – but Norris believes the Maranello-based team will continue to be a threat for the rest of the campaign.
“I mean, they’re just a little bit up and down,” Norris said on Sunday when asked about McLaren’s season-long battle with Ferrari.
“It’s not that they’re in trouble every race. I think Paul Ricard was particularly bad for them. But a lot of the tracks will suit them more than us.
“And considering how much they struggle on the straights still, on the GPS they are one of the best in the corners, similar to Mercedes and Red Bull in a lot of the corners.
“So they are our big threat at the moment. We’re still working hard, that’s why we’re not taking anything for granted at the moment.
“And we still have to keep chipping away and improving the car because once they put it all together they can easily be ahead of us. It’s tough.”
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Continuing, he said: “I think most of the time they’ve outqualified us this year already, and they’ve been on pole two times.
“So it shows they have a very good car, and as soon as they sort their problems in the race then they’re flying.
“In some ways you would say they have a better car than us in certain scenarios and tracks and situations, and in others we have a better car like yesterday [Styrian GP qualifying]. So we’ll see.
“A challenge is always good. It makes it more exciting, it makes the team work hard and the only time you don’t like it is when they beat you. It keeps the guys working hard and even back in the factory, but you don’t want it to be too difficult either.
“I enjoy it because it makes me have to work hard and push the limits and things like that. Hopefully we can do the same next week,” he concluded.
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