Formula 1 | Ricciardo and Norris in chorus: “Excited to start the season”

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris can't wait to sit behind the wheel of the MCL35M, the car with which McLaren will face the next 2021 Formula 1 world championship. In the opening press conference of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the drivers of the Woking team outlined the objectives for next weekend, specifying that the sensations on the single-seater are absolutely positive. The hope, precisely in this sense, is to compete on equal terms with Ferrari, Aston Martin, AlphaTauri and Alpine for the areas within the top 5.

“I'm certainly more confident than last year, also because it's my third season in Formula 1,” Lando Norris said. “I'm fine and I'm ready to go again. We had some good tests last week and the car's response on this track was positive. I didn't look for time and I think the team should think about their job. We have an idea in mind, but we are not sure of the qualifying position. There is a vague scenario, but I repeat that the sensations were positive. I hope this can tell us something."

On the updates to the MCL35M he instead revealed: “We will bring updates and try as much as possible to make the car faster. It's a quite different situation compared to last year. It's not perfect, clearly, but there is a good basis for growth. I thought about 2020 and I think it shouldn't change that much. There have been good and less good results, but I am satisfied with what we have done."

Here are Daniel Ricciardo's impressions: “I'm definitely enthusiastic. I have never lacked confidence but obviously, beyond words, the nonsense ends the moment you go on the track. Over the weekend we will see what level we are at. We found a rhythm straight away and I can't wait to get to the point. We have an idea of ​​what cars we will chase and what we can do, but maybe in a few months the answer will be different. I feel in a good position. For the team's expectations, however, we must aim for the top positions."

“Every car is different and each of us can get into any car on the grid and use it differently, 95%,” he added. But the difference is made by that remaining 5%. We have concentrated on our work and in a few hours we will certainly know more. I can't wait to start this 2021 world championship."

On the sensations before a weekend he revealed: “After a race you still try to calm down from the adrenaline, it's difficult to sleep at night and you review the race again. I never sleep anyway. The mind reviews good and bad things to understand where to improve. But I never fell out of bed."