Pushed on whether he arrives into Austin with the same level of confidence he took into Singapore, Norris answered: “Yeah, I think so – probably more, I would say.
“If you look at where we were last year here relative with the car that we had, comparing to where we were in Singapore, I think this was a better weekend for us. We led the first half of the race – I know some things were mixed up because of different scenarios but it was a good weekend.
READ MORE: McLaren become latest team to unveil Austin livery as they bring back chrome design
“Some things have changed on this track with the new surface, and some of the layout’s changed a little bit, so [there are] always questions for us to go and answer. But with how we performed last year, with how we’re performing over the last three, four, five races, I think we’re confident everywhere that we should be towards the top.”
As well the resurfacing of the Circuit of The Americas, another potential unknown entering into the weekend is the return of the Sprint. Norris is optimistic that these factors can present an opportunity for McLaren rather than something to be wary of.
“I have no idea if it’s going to be a good thing or a bad thing – I don’t think anyone does,” the 24-year-old said. “I think we probably all treat it as opportunities until we know something different.
“But it’s also a Sprint race where many things can happen and it’s difficult to sometimes hit the ground running. We saw that last year with people not getting their set-ups right and things like that.
