McLaren are “there or thereabouts”, insists Lando Norris

After an unusual opening day at the Mexico City Grand Prix, McLaren driver Lando Norris insists that the Woking-based outfit is “there or thereabouts” in terms of performance.

Lando Norris sat out the opening practice as Pato O’Ward got behind his car in Free Practice 1. The Briton came back in for FP2 with a new floor to boot, and wound up fifth overall.

Commenting on his sole practice session, Norris said: “An okay start to the weekend in Mexico. I think not doing FP1 was always going to leave me with the job of getting an understanding of the tyres in the extended FP2, but overall, we’re there or thereabouts.

“Oscar was quick today which gives us confidence as a team going into tomorrow’s session. I feel like I’ve got a little bit of work to do, but we’ll work hard on that overnight.”

His team-mate Oscar Piastri finishes sixth in the opening practice before going second quickest in the second session. The Australian was delighted with the setup tweaks McLaren has carried out on his car between the two Friday sessions.

“Friday done. It felt pretty good, and I think we made some good changes in FP2, which made a positive impact on the feeling in the car, so I’m happy with it.

“It was interesting to get some running in with the tyres for next year, and there were good learnings all around. We seem to be reasonably competitive, and I think we’re in good shape going into tomorrow.”

McLaren Racing’s IndyCar driver Patricio O’Ward set a time of 1m19.295s in the opening sixty-minute practice to finish in P13. The Mexican driver labelled his day as “fabulous”, praising the passionate crowd.

“A fabulous day today really, I very much enjoyed my FP1 outing in Mexico. The crowd was unbelievable, and I’m super happy that I was able to extract everything from the programme that the team had planned.

“It was great to be able to support Lando, Oscar and the team in learning and set-up, and contribute in a positive way to the weekend. I can’t wait to see what the team can do tomorrow and in the race on Sunday.”