Lando Norris issues McLaren warning despite being in “a good place” in Singapore
"I was hoping to have a much bigger gap than I had honestly which means they’re quick."
Lando Norris has admitted he hoped to have a “much bigger gap” over Charles Leclerc following a strong showing in Friday F1 practice at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Norris topped the timesheets in FP2, with less than a tenth advantage over Leclerc.
Like in Azerbaijan, the battle for victory looks set to between McLaren and Ferrari.
Reflecting on the day, Norris was very pleased with how McLaren were performing - but hoped for a bigger margin.
“Pace is good. I am feeling good,” Norris said. “It was also a nice lap. We’re doing what we expect, I guess, to be at the front with Ferrari.
“But it was a very nice lap. Charles is only 0.08s behind. I was hoping to have a much bigger gap than I had honestly which means they’re quick.
“Ferrari are very, very fast. Things are going well so far.”
Norris revealed the handling of his McLaren “felt good straightaway”.
“My first comment to the whole team was that it felt good straightaway,” he added. “I think we’re always good at that - it’s one of our strengths, arriving, performing well, but then we don’t tend to progress as much as other teams.
“We will see. It’s going to be close. We’re in a decent position. I feel like there’s not a lot we can change.
“Just trying to perfect a little bit, iron out a few things and push it in a slightly quicker direction. It’s all we can do.”
Norris isn’t surprised by Ferrari’s turn of pace, particularly in the hands of Leclerc.
Leclerc stormed to pole and the win in Monaco, while he was the quickest driver in Azerbaijan.
Despite McLaren’s strong start, he’s warned that there wasn’t much more lap time in his best effort.
“Charles is very good at street circuits,” he explained. “We’ve seen it at Baku, Monaco, what he’s capable of doing. I am sure he’s quite happy with his lap. If he’s not happy, I'm worried about tomorrow. A nice lap for me, not much more in it. I felt like I got a lot out of Friday.
“Normally I prefer not being so good then always having a bit extra into Saturday. A good start to the weekend. We’re in a good place. If we can keep it up I will be happy.”
