Norris Unveils McLaren's Strategy to Defend Their Title

Lando Norris is confident that McLaren can still mount a strong title defense when the F1 season resumes at the Miami Grand Prix, despite the team's slow start to the season. The reigning champion believes that with nearly five weeks to work on their cars, there is still an opportunity to turn things around. Norris trails early championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 47 points, but remains optimistic about their chances. "I think we can have a good season, even if we're not where we want to be right now," he said. "We still want to push hard for the championship, this isn't a case of giving up and focusing on next year." Norris emphasized the importance of addressing the reliability issues that have plagued their car and Mercedes power unit. Ensuring McLaren gets to the bottom of these issues is a key area of focus. "We're not in a terrible position, but we've definitely got to work to get back in contention for wins, and, even then, we need to keep going to make sure we've got a car capable of winning every single weekend," he added. Norris also highlighted the significance of track time in understanding how to get the most out of the car, particularly the power unit. The team's lack of track time in China and Japan has hindered their development, but they are using the break to work on these issues. "Tiny, tiny margins make significant differences. Combine that with the fact that we didn't start the Grand Prix in China, and that we didn't get enough track time during practice in Japan, and it's easy to see where we're lacking," Team-mate Oscar Piastri also expressed confidence in the team's ability to close the gap to Mercedes and get into regular victory contention. "We have a lot of work to do to be back at the front consistently, but closing the gap to Mercedes and out-developing the field is something that's within our control," he said. "This team have proven how we're able to turn things around, and we're starting in a stronger position than we have in previous examples of this." The F1 season resumes on May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the season's second Sprint weekend, live on Sky Sports F1.