"To challenge the Red Bull I think is going to be tough around here" - Lando Norris not getting carried away with impressive form on Friday

McLaren driver Lando Norris mentioned that Red Bull would be difficult to beat in Mexico despite a positive showing from him in FP2 on Friday, October 27.

The British driver finished just a tenth and a half behind Max Verstappen in the FP2 session and displayed some encouraging speed for the weekend. Yet he was aware of the Austrian team's strength at the track, where they had only lost once since 2017.

Speaking with F1.com, Lando Norris accepted that he started the weekend off well. However, he claimed that there weren't too many changes he and the team could make to close the gap to Verstappen. Norris said:

"We started the weekend off well. I think we generally always start weekends off well. I think we always have a good idea of where to put the car, to begin with, and it’s not far off normally where we end the weekend."

“There’s not a lot to gain through the weekends. There are always little things and those little things add up. There’s still stuff to improve, also from my driving, little things here and there but to challenge the Red Bull I think is going to be tough around here.”

Lando Norris on showing their pace a bit too early

Norris mentioned that he was worried that the team might have shown their speed a bit too early in the weekend and peaked too soon. He analyzed the Friday Free Practice performance from the MCL60 and said:

“Is that the challenge, within one and a half tenths? Many drivers were within three-tenths! I think it was a good Friday. A good start to the weekend anyway. It’s close, so it seems it could swing very quickly either way. I did a very good lap, maybe too good for this early in the weekend! We’ll continue to try to improve, but it’s a good start.”

Lando Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri also made similar remarks and claimed that the track has a low grip, adding:

“Low grip, definitely! No, it was a good first day I think. The car pace looks reasonable. Yeah, the track has a very low grip and it takes a lot of getting used to but it seems cool. I feel like I built up through the day and, yeah, it seemed like a reasonable FP2 session. Some things to still tidy up and find tomorrow,"

It will be fascinating to see if Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can work in tandem and challenge Red Bull this weekend to get another double podium finish for McLaren.