McLaren F1 is perhaps hours away from winning its first constructors' title since 1998. The team is 21 points ahead of Ferrari ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale, and is favorite to succeed Red Bull.
As for Ferrari, the last constructors' title dates back a long time (2008), but not as long ago as for McLaren F1. Especially since the team has come a long way after years of suffering (it was still at the back of the grid at the start of 2023).
This is what made Lando Norris say that a title would have more flavor for Woking than for Maranello!
« There is a lot of external pressure, but I think that within the team, not much changes,» declared Norris before this grand final.
« The teams we're fighting against, whether it's Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, none of them have gone through the pain that we've gone through the last six years,» he confided.
« So, I think it will mean more to us than anyone else. »
« It always means something; it still means a lot to everyone, that’s obvious. »
« But we had to start from much lower than where they were, which is our fault, we were the ones who failed, we weren't good enough at the time. »
« But that makes the story better than having been at the front all the time only to end up winning one day. »
Free practice shows great competitiveness for McLaren F1, but Lando Norris doubts that this Abu Dhabi track will suit the Papayas that much.
« This is not the track that has suited us best in the past,» he admitted. “Qatar was a great opportunity for us, but obviously it didn't go as planned. »
« I think it will be a close fight between all four teams this weekend. I don't expect any of us to be much further along. »
« Last weekend it was clear in the race that between Max and I we were the fastest by far. »
-« But look at the day before, with just a day's difference, and George clearly looked to be fastest in the Mercedes. »
« You have those two things and on Friday initially the Ferraris looked the best. »
« We have four teams that can win, we're confident we can do a good job and execute things well, but I have no idea if we'll be in the front of those four or the back of the four. »
Lando Norris sous pression ?
On the eve of this grand final, does Lando Norris feel the pressure coming? He seemed to take it badly in Qatar, rushing under a double yellow flag and thus receiving a heavy penalty…
« There has been pressure all season to perform well and do things well. »
« There has been pressure all season for me as a driver, especially in the second half of the year. »
« I feel like I did the right thing, but it's more of an external pressure that I think people have to deal with. These are engineers, mechanics and those kinds of people. »
« I'm sure everyone in the team feels a little more nervous coming into the last race, but at the same time nothing should change, nothing needs to change. »
« The work we have done is very good. I'm proud of the whole team, and we just keep doing the same thing we've been doing so far. »
