McLaren has signed a fresh deal with Mercedes which will see it use engines supplied by the Silver Arrows.
This is believed to be a huge gain for the team, provided the engine is well integrated into the chassis. However, McLaren driver Lando Norris is not entirely convinced that this will make a big difference to the team’s output.
Norris argued that McLaren should have used its development tokens elsewhere.
“I know a lot of people expect a big difference, but I don’t notice much of it. We used all our tokens to put the Mercedes engine in, so in that respect it isn’t an ideal solution,” Norris told Sky Sports.
The British driver said that the car is innovative in many ways and the team will look to continue to develop it further through the course of the season.
“For example, I didn’t know that the floor, which everyone is talking about, was so special.
“Everyone was saying how innovative it was and so different to other teams. Throughout the year we will try to change and improve it even more.”
Norris said the similarity the car has with last year’s model is actually a benefit.
“At the same time, the car is very similar to last year’s, so that’s good.
“We have made some progress, which will hopefully make us a bit more competitive. But I’m sure everyone else has improved as well.”
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