McLaren closer to winning races than for many years – Norris

In brief

McLaren close to winning – Norris

McLaren’s Lando Norris believes his team, which he recently signed a contract extension with, are as close to winning a grand prix than they have been since he joined them.

“There were moments we were close to winning races last year and a few races we were not miles away from a Red Bull,” Norris said. “And last year, when you think of it, it was the most competitive car ever in Formula 1 and a few races we were extremely, extremely close.

“So with the knowledge of if you want to win one race, we’re the closest we have ever been since I’ve been here at McLaren and for many, many years. But fighting for a championship is a bigger step. If you ask me ‘do you think you can win races this year’, I’d probably be more inclined to say yes. But to go straight into, ‘can you win races and a championship’, I think that’s another level.”

Camara victorious in FRMEC

Camara led every lap from pole position to win ahead of Ferrari academy driver Taponen as the race finished behind the Safety Car. Brando Badoer was third for a second straight race.

The result gives Taponen a comfortable lead of 32 points after three of five rounds. The series returns to Yas Marina for a final time next weekend before concluding back in Dubai the following week.

Lacorte and Ngatoa win in FROC

There were two new winners in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship at New Zealand’s Hampton Downs circuit yesterday.

Alpine academy drive Lacorte won the reverse-grid second race of the weekend following a race-ending red flag for a dramatic crash for Gerrard Xie. In race three, Kaleb Ngatoa beat championship leader Roman Bilinski, who extended his advantage to 50 points over Liam Sceats.

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley predicts whether Hamilton can succeed where Alonso and Vettel didn’t (F1)

''I think that he's such a consummate professional that he will lift every area of the team. I think the difference perhaps, from certainly when I was there and Fernando was there, is that they've shown their potential over the last few years.''

Martins and O’Sullivan: The duo tasked with helping ART Grand Prix retain both titles in 2024 (F2)

'But that means they enter the 2024 season with a target on their back, with all 10 rival teams vying to take their place at the top. This is something that, as they prepare for the year ahead back at their factory in France, they have experienced in Formula 2 yet. In preparation for this, ART have armed themselves with a line-up featuring 2023’s top rookie Victor Martins, and last year’s runner-up in Formula 3, Zak O’Sullivan. But which qualities do they have to help the team defend their titles?'

Power Encouraged by Progress of Hybrid Testing This Week (IndyCar)

'Power said the development of the hybrid system has made significant strides since he drove with it in the late months of 2023. IndyCar officials have not committed to a debut date of the system or announced rules pertaining to it, but Power is confident it will be good for the series and its partners.'

Ride to Survive! Valtteri Bottas & Tiffany Cromwell Aussie Gravel Epic (Global Cycling Network via YouTube)

'When we were offered the chance to ride with F1 driver Valtteri Bottas and pro cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, who were we to turn that opportunity down! While in Australia Alex got the chance to meet them both for a gravel adventure.'

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Social media

Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:

See you tomorrow, Williams fans 👋 pic.twitter.com/3YI9btAt9W

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) February 4, 2024

Tomorrow.

🕖 7pm GMT
👀 C44 pic.twitter.com/gbpUIAVyjN

— Stake F1 Team (@stakef1team) February 4, 2024

🗣️ “The black is gone, the white is back”

Watch @CarlosSainz55 & @Charles_Leclerc take a look at their new 2024 race suits 👀 pic.twitter.com/dChxApd8vB

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 4, 2024

Testing ready 👏 Here's what @DorianePin's @f1academy car will look for the first test of the year in Barcelona 😍 pic.twitter.com/QvpOaWnvUq

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 4, 2024

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• Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory

Comment of the day

This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is AllTheCoolNamesWereTaken!:

“This is really strange, Lewis. Whenever I try to look at my contract status for 2025, it just says, ‘We are checking…’”
AllTheCoolNamesWereTaken

Thanks to everyone who came up with caption ideas this week and a special mention to Urvaksh, John Beak, Philip and Red Andy who all came up with particularly good captions.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Tom Watson and Ian Hayward!

On this day in motorsport

• Born today in 1956: Hector Rebaque, who started 41 grands prix and was team mate to Nelson Piquet in 1981 when the Brabram driver won the world championship, but never finished on the podium