After yet another second-place finish in Brazil, Lando Norris believes McLaren can proud of what they are achieving given where they started 2023 and says "I'll be optimistic" for fighting more strongly for wins next season
Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:37, UK
Lando Norris is "excited" about McLaren's prospects heading towards the 2024 Formula 1 season and has optimism they will be able to compete against Red Bull for race victories.
McLaren's in-season resurgence has been one of the standout stories of 2023, with the team dramatically turning around a car that started the season struggling to make the top 10 on the grid.
Norris' second place in Brazil was McLaren's fifth in the last six races - four for the Briton and one for Oscar Piastri - in a race which saw him briefly threaten to overtake Max Verstappen for the lead.
Although the Red Bull edged steadily away from there, Norris finished only eight seconds behind at the chequered flag, with the race's fastest lap, whereas the rest of the field were over half a minute adrift.
A maiden Grand Prix victory may well remain elusive in the final two rounds of this season with Verstappen and Red Bull proving almost unbeatable, but Norris says there is no shame in that right now for McLaren given where they started the year and the fact they are competing against the most dominant combination of all time in terms of winning percentage during a season.
Sitting alongside Verstappen in Sunday's post-race press conference, Norris said: "I've just been just saying to Max, since we bought this upgrade to Austria, I've been the second highest scoring driver on the grid.
"I think we've been the second highest scoring team, potentially.
"Of course, we've taken some massive steps forward and at the same time, considering we're talking about fighting the Red Bull, I think it's still a very, very good thing, for what we've achieved this year.
"We're talking about one of the best drivers in Formula 1 ever, in one of the most dominating cars and obviously it's a pairing and things have to go well together, but we're talking about a guy who's scored 17 [wins] and of the most dominated years in Formula 1 history."
Norris, who had been asked whether McLaren could give him a car to compete for wins and maybe even the title in 2024, added: "For us to go from where we were in Bahrain to getting close and talking about fighting a Red Bull I think are very good signs for us.
"And we know we still have plenty more things to come next year. So I'm excited.
"Having that as a thought, it's quite a faraway thought. I don't want to think of that just now, there's no point thinking of it until next year but I'll be optimistic and I believe we can do it as a team."
Norris and McLaren have played down their prospects heading in to recent events, only to be surprised themselves by the continued competitiveness of the MCL60 relative to the chasing pack behind Red Bull.
"The pace has been very strong," Norris told Sky Sports F1. "Again coming into a race weekend where we weren't expecting to be performing quite at this level, I think is a very good surprise for all of us.
"Here and Mexico, I think we both said these are the two tracks we are going to struggle and we have come out of them a lot better than we were expecting. So it's a big positive for the whole team and for myself to know this.
"There doesn't seem like there's any bad tracks for us at the minute. Vegas is always a bit of a question mark for everyone, but this is as close to a perfect weekend - close, but not quite - as it gets."
Get ready for the big one: Formula 1 in Las Vegas! See drivers race down the Strip, and past landmarks like Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, on F1's newest street track. Watch the whole Las Vegas GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1 on November 17-19. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW
