Lando Norris says McLaren’s change to Mercedes engines from 2021 will only be part of what is needed to race at the front in Formula 1.
Seven years after ditching the German manufacturer for Honda at the end of 2014, the Woking-based outfit will re-kindle the partnership that helped Mika Hakkinen score his two world titles in 1998 and 1999.
It’s a switch that McLaren hopes will help them continue their progress up the grid, as they eye once again challenging for wins and F1 championships from 2023.
However, Norris downplayed any suggestion a Mercedes engine is all they need to make that jump.
“It’s something to look forward to,” he was quoted by F1i.com.
“It’s what we believe will be an addition and something to help us step forward, but it’s not going to be everything.
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“There’s a lot of time that we still need to find in the chassis itself and not just rely on the engine.
“So it’s a help and it’s a step forward but there’s a lot of things in Formula 1, so many things that are part of making a Formula 1 car to go quickly, and this is just one of hundreds of thousands,” he added.
“So it’s good, it’s something we look forward to, something that we definitely think is going to be helping us.
“We have to get this season out of the way and work as hard as we can for now and then look forward to it next year.”
McLaren is largely pinning their aspirations on F1’s new budget cap, which will come into effect from 2021, and the all-new car designs that are now scheduled for 2022.
