Fernando Alonso’s recent McLaren test gave the team a path forward in developing the 2019 car.
That is the claim of race driver Lando Norris after the double world champion completed one and a half days back in a Formula 1 car in Bahrain.
Though his role in the test was more focused on Pirelli, the running also allowed Alonso to give McLaren feedback as they look to continue their improved form this season.
“It was beneficial for all of us. I think Fernando brought a bit to the table in terms of positives and negatives compared to last year’s car,” Norris explained to Crash.net.
“It wasn’t all positive, there were some positives here and there. We’ve got a better understanding of the car and how to develop it, and move it on from there.”
And producing the right upgrades is something McLaren struggled to do last year as a problem with the design meant finding gains proved particularly tricky.
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Norris though is keen to build on a strong start to his rookie season with two Q3 appearances and a sixth-place finish in Bahrain, the Woking-based outfit’s best result to date.
And recently, the Briton also spoke to RaceFans about what is normally the biggest challenge when a driver steps up, the tyres.
“The hard thing in practice and pre-season testing is knowing how much to push and not to push,” he said.
“Especially for my first time doing a race sim in Barcelona, knowing how hard to push with a full tank of fuel, tyres that drop off a lot both in wear but also thermally, it’s always hard to judge.
“Sometimes you have loads of tyre deg and you think ‘oh no, this is going to be terrible’.”
When racing for real, however, Norris revealed it is actually easier even if the pressure is higher.
“When you’re in a race you obviously gauge yourself much more against others drivers around you,” the 20-year-old continued.
“And it’s easier to know what they’re doing and what you have to do to make changes and save the tyres more, save they tyres less. So it is very different.”