"Bahrain was just a slip-up" - McLaren optimistic about their car after substantial performance at 2022 F1 Imola GP

McLaren picked up their first podium at the Imola GP. Lando Norris benefitted from a late-race spin for Charles Leclerc and secured his first podium of the season.

The team spearheaded the midfield throughout the weekend and were in prime position to benefit from Carlos Sainz's retirement and Leclerc's spin.

McLaren were nowhere in Bahrain, finishing the race outside points without any hope of scoring any. Since then, they have been making incremental gains every race weekend, with their performances improving from Saudi Arabia to Australia and now Imola.

After the race, team principal Andreas Seidl said it had become clear that Bahrain was just a slip-up for the team.

With a wider understanding of the car, the team has been able to extract a lot of performance out of it without even bringing any upgrades. He said:

"We now believe that Bahrain was just a slip-up. We simply didn't have enough data on the new car due to the problems during the test drives"

Norris, while happy with his team's progress, feels there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. He said:

"The car feels good. The balance is right. But we lack speed in all types of corners. We lose a second per lap on Ferrari and Red Bull."

---

McLaren already consolidating 4th position in the championship

McLaren's progress, which has seen the team jump from being dead last to the fourth position, has been astounding.

Having two drivers works well for the team. While Daniel Ricciardo hasn't had the best of runs with a bad race at Imola and a DNF in Saudi Arabia, he has more or less been on pace with Norris.

If this progress continues, the team could solidify fourth position yet again and even target Mercedes for the third spot in the constructor standings.