Lando Norris: McLaren now focused on chasing down Ferrari

This ambitious goal comes on the heels of McLaren overtaking Aston Martin in the F1 standings. The summer break witnessed a sluggish McLaren, but a remarkable resurgence in form has propelled them upwards, securing a string of podiums in the last four races.

Slow off the starting line, McLaren has managed to dramatically reduce the gap between themselves and Aston Martin. Aston's fortunes, on the other hand, have been on a downwards trajectory since the summer.

In the recent US Grand Prix, Lando Norris clinched another second-place finish, a performance that enabled McLaren to overtake the Silverstone-based outfit and secure fourth place in the standings, holding a six-point advantage.

Expressing his astonishment, Norris questioned the consistent decline in Aston Martin's car performance over recent weeks, characterising it as getting "slower and slower." 

With McLaren's current momentum and determination, Norris believes they can still set their sights on Ferrari, who are currently positioned in third place and a formidable 80 points ahead.

"It's our target," he said about Ferrari's lead. "I think we're in a good rhythm.

"It's been clear that Aston… I don't know, they seem to have managed to make the car slower and slower with every upgrade that they've bought.

"They were racing [Red Bull] at the beginning of the year and they were out in Q1 and then they've been struggling, so I don't know what their issues are."

READ MORE: Mercedes upgrades renewed Lewis Hamilton's confidence