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Norris warns McLaren still needs more performance despite back-to-back wins Lando Norris has warned that McLaren cannot afford to become complacent despite winning the last two Grands Prix and securing consecutive pole positions, insisting that the team still needs to improve its low-speed performance if it is to remain in championship contention. Norris headed into the Dutch Grand Prix on the back of victory in the previous race and subsequently made it two wins in a row at Zandvoort. The reigning champion also started both events from pole position, underlining McLaren's recent return to the front of the field. However, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next on the calendar, Norris is refusing to assume that the team's recent form will automatically continue. Asked how much confidence he had heading into Monza, Norris initially wanted to put thoughts of the next race aside and enjoy his latest victory. “I don’t want to think of it for now. I just want to enjoy this moment again, enjoy a few days off,” Norris said. “But I know I have to because you’re asking me.” While Norris accepts that McLaren currently has a very strong car, he believes its performance is much more dependent on circuit characteristics than it was last season. “We clearly have a strong car,” he explained. “We have a strong car in certain areas.” The biggest strength of the current McLaren is high-speed performance, where Norris believes the team has made significant progress. “It’s not like last year where we were pretty good everywhere,” he said. “We’re very, very strong in high speed, and that’s the place we’ve improved the car the most, is high-speed performance.” According to Norris, McLaren currently has a clear advantage over its rivals through fast corners. The difference was particularly visible at Zandvoort, where Norris was able to extract significant performance through the circuit's high-speed sections. However, that advantage is offset by Mercedes' strength in slower corners. “No one matches us in high speed, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “My pace advantage to Mercedes in Turn 7, 8 was crazy,” he explained. “But their advantage that they have to us in slow speed is also crazy,” Norris added. That imbalance is the reason Norris remains cautious about McLaren's championship prospects. Despite his two consecutive victories and poles, he does not believe the current car is yet complete enough to comfortably fight for the title over the remainder of the season. “I don’t have the confidence to say, ‘Yeah, I can easily fight for a championship for the rest of the season,’” Norris admitted. “I know I’ve just won two races in a row and had two poles in a row, but at the minute I don’t have the car I need to fight for a championship.” Norris acknowledged that the statement may sound surprising given his recent run of form, but he believes his experience from last year's championship campaign has given him a clear understanding of what is required. “I know that’s quite a big comment,” he said. “But I think last year I understood what is needed from a car and what was needed for myself.” The reigning champion is therefore looking beyond the immediate results and assessing whether McLaren has the characteristics required to remain competitive across every type of circuit. He is also aware that several upcoming circuits could expose McLaren's weakness in slower corners, making further development particularly important. “I know the level that I am now and what I know I can perform at, and I know just what I need from the car,” Norris explained. “I know what tracks we have coming up where we’re going to certainly struggle more, and I don’t want to struggle more,” Norris said. For that reason, Norris wants McLaren to continue pushing even after its recent success rather than allowing the consecutive victories to create a false sense of security. The Briton believes the entire organisation must maintain an exceptionally high level of effort if McLaren is to defend its position at the front. “I’m just doing my part to make sure, as a team, we don’t relax, we don’t get complacent in any way,” he said. “We work more than we’ve ever done before, even more than the last two years when we’ve won championships,” Norris stated. His message to the team is therefore clear: the recent victories are confirmation that McLaren has the potential to win, but they should be viewed as motivation rather than a reason to ease off. In particular, Norris wants the team to address its deficit in slow-speed corners. “I need the guys and girls to work and focus better than ever before to improve on these areas,” Norris said. “If we can improve on these slow speeds, I’m confident that I can win every race this season. If we don’t, then it’s much more difficult to believe so.” The Italian Grand Prix at Monza will provide the first opportunity to see how McLaren's high-speed strength translates to a very different circuit. The track's long straights and heavy braking zones could suit some of the team's characteristics, while the slow-speed sections will once again provide an important test of its weaknesses.