McLaren claims that the MCL38 is "reasonable" despite low grip at the Hungaroring
Although Lando Norris ended the day a full 0.243s clear of his closest rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the Briton claims that it will require a brilliant lap to beat the reigning champion on Satuday.
Lando Norris ended the opening day of action at the Hungarian Grand Prix on top after going fastest in second practice. However, the Briton noted that he’d had to work hard to extract that lap time from this car as it was "on the edge" across the practice sessions.
"Overall, it’s been a good Friday. We made some steps forward between the sessions which is pleasing, and the feeling of the car is reasonable.
"The grip still feels a little low, so it can be tricky in places, but we’ll work on that tonight to be in a good position tomorrow for Qualifying as it’s very close this weekend.”
His team-mate Oscar Piastri's McLaren ran into difficulties before even exiting the garage. It was later revealed to be a water pressure issue, and he lost more time in FP2 after damaging his floor running wide.
The Australian ended the session down in P13, but he could perform a long run simulation run in the closing stages of the second practice, providing him with plenty of data to go through before the action continues in FP3.
“A mixed day on track. FP1 looked very good but FP2 was challenging, so it’s important we get an understanding of why that was the case. The other car looked quick today which is a positive for the team.
"If we can sort out whatever happened in FP2, then we should be somewhere close to the front with a strong Quali," noted Piastri.
The Woking-based team was only one of three teams to have collected data on all three tyre compounds. Although it means that McLaren driver will only have one single set of hards for the remainder of the weekend, team boss Andrea Stella noted that it was crucial to assess all three compounds on the opening data in order to collect the right data for the rest of the weekend.
“Friday practice at the Hungaroring has been useful with extremely hot conditions in the first session, followed by a cooler FP2. We could work on our test items throughout the day, which has helped us understand the set-up of the car.
"We were able to look at different tyres as well and how they behave in these hot conditions, this provides the team with important data on which compound is the best suited for the race.
“Overall, we can see that the car behaves well. Lando was in a good rhythm all the way. With Oscar, there are a few things we need to look at overnight to allow us to be in condition to compete for the first positions on the grid in what looks like a very tight field – not only because of the usual competitors, but it looks like some midfielders have made a decent step forward as well. Anyhow, it looks like an exciting weekend ahead for the fans.”
