Lando Norris will evaluate if he needs to take more risks to keep McLaren ahead of the midfield pack this season.
Last year the Woking-based outfit surprised many by moving up from battling with Williams at the end of 2018 to having a stranglehold on the 'best of the rest' position for much of the season.
Looking forward, McLaren is also very bullish about using the new budget cap and regulations to potentially challenge the top three teams for wins and even championships.
But in the meantime, Norris admits there's no guarantee that the strong gains of 2019 will continue.
“We’ve only done one track so far and it’s a track which maybe doesn’t show exactly what everyone can do, and not everyone goes flat-out and shows what everyone can do,” he explained on the F1 Nation podcast.
Also Read:
- Norris feels his role is increasing within McLaren after rookie year
- Norris: There's no area McLaren can match Mercedes
- McLaren aiming too 'annoy' top three teams from 2022
“I think it’s going to be very close with the midfield. I think you’ll have those top three teams that are a little bit ahead again. We’ve made progress but I’m sure all of the other teams have made progress at the same time.
“There is pressure on the team to make another step like we did last year. I think that’s what a lot of fans think, but it’s really not easy to make an F1 car go a lot quicker and be on the same level as the top teams.
"We’re getting there, we’ve made progress, but we are working at it.”
While critical every year, scoring strong results consistently will be even more important in 2020 due to the reduced calendar.
And that is why Norris is also considering whether he needs to be more aggressive when racing wheel-to-wheel.
“If it was just eight races obviously you probably would take those few more risks but I’m confident that it’s probably going to be more races than that, whether they will be flyaways or back in Europe, I’m not too sure yet," he told Motorsport.com.
“But that is something I need to speak through with my engineers and work out as a team what’s best for us and what’s best for me.
“There’s obviously things I need to improve on anyway and I’m confident I can do a better job in, that’s something more for Austria and when we know what our pace is like."
