Lando Norris rues the ‘biggest weakness’ McLaren face with their 2024 Formula 1 car that foiled them at the Emilia Romagna GP and could be an issue at the Canadian GP.
The Great White North marks the next stop for the travelling circus of F1 for the ninth round of the 2024 season. Norris scored his first Grand Prix win the last time that Formula 1 took a trip across the Atlantic for the Miami GP. He even nearly secured back-to-back wins at Imola.
But Norris failed to deny Max Verstappen the win at the Emilia Romagna GP after leaving his assault potentially one lap too late. The McLaren driver crossed the finish line 0.725 seconds behind his Red Bull rival. It marked his third podium in as many races and fourth of the term.
Lando Norris rues the slow-speed corner ‘weakness’ of McLaren’s 2024 F1 car
McLaren emerged as a genuine threat to Red Bull at the Miami GP after handing Norris their latest upgrades. Oscar Piastri only got their full set of upgrades at Imola. But the 23-year-old used the new parts to take Piastri’s first podium this year at the Monaco GP in second place.
Yet while Norris also ended the Monaco GP in P4, the 24-year-old still rues how McLaren are performing in slow-speed corners. He thinks it is still the Woking natives’ ‘biggest weakness’, despite their upgrades. The Briton especially points to Imola’s Turn 7 as an example of why.
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Norris has pinpointed the slow hairpin of Tosa as one of the corners that held McLaren back over the Emilia Romagna GP. But the chicanes of Turns 2-3, 5-6 and 14-15 were their ‘worst’ corners. So, McLaren and Norris may face the same woe when F1 goes to the Canadian GP.
“It’s still our biggest weakness,” Norris said, via quotes by RacingNews365. “Even if you look to Imola, like Turn 7, our worst corner – the chicane – so, one of our worst corners.
“I don’t think we’re bad, what I’m saying is it’s our biggest weakness. We’re talking about maybe half-a-tenth at times and that kind of thing.”
The Canadian GP could offer Lando Norris the same issues as the Emilia Romagna GP
The Canadian GP could present the same problems for McLaren that Norris thinks cost them at the Emilia Romagna GP. Like Imola with the Tamburello, Villeneuve and Alta chicanes, the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve boasts chicanes at Turns 3-4, 6-7, 8-9 and 12-13, which are crucial.
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The Turns 3-4, 6-7 and 12-13 are also moderate-to-slow speed chicanes, which may thwart McLaren given Norris’ concerns. Going well over the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve’s slow corners is crucial for a strong Canadian GP. But another factor could help McLaren and hurt Red Bull.
As well as the slow corners which Norris rues, teams need their car to ride the kerbs well to thrive at the Canadian GP. Kerbs were a major issue for Red Bull at the Monaco GP last time out. Verstappen frequently bemoaned how Red Bull handled the kerbs around Monte Carlo.
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