Upgraded McLaren is faster but just as difficult to drive: Norris assesses Friday in Sao Paulo

Most teams are already fully focused on developing next year’s car. McLaren raised a few eyebrows by bringing a fairly substantial upgrade package to Sao Paulo. According to insiders, however, its primary purpose is not to improve the performance of this year’s car, but to confirm that development of its next challenger is heading in the right direction. So far, Lando Norris is pleased with the results.

McLaren has reworked both wings and revised the layout of the deflectors on the floor. The front wing is particularly interesting, however, as it represents a change in concept. The nose is now attached to the second element rather than the first.

Interestingly, Mercedes went in precisely the opposite direction in Singapore, allowing it to use active mode on the upper two flaps rather than just the final one. Teams’ solutions tend to converge over time, but that is not happening in this case, so it will be interesting to see in 2027 who is heading in the right direction and who is pursuing a dead end.

Lando Norris was fastest of all in first practice. Kimi Antonelli moved ahead in Friday’s second session, but McLaren retained second place. “I think FP1, we seemed quite easily on the pace. FP2, maybe struggled a little bit more to match the Mercedes. But I think actually it’s been a pretty good start to the weekend, and we’ve continued the trend that we had in Mexico,” he said, recalling a strong Friday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. “So I think all in all, a positive day.”

The papaya squad is still battling Red Bull for third place in the constructors’ championship. While that may no longer have fans on the edge of their seats, each position gained is worth around ten million dollars to the teams. The upgrades will therefore help the engineers develop next year’s car, but if they also help McLaren move ahead of Red Bull, there will be money for end-of-year bonuses too.

How did Friday’s tests go? “FP1 was a little bit of a surprise, a pleasant surprise. Even though I had half and half, and we’re going put everything together for tomorrow, the upgrades also seem to have given what we hoped for, I would say.”

Norris cautioned that introducing upgrades does not necessarily mean McLaren will be stronger in qualifying than before. The main stumbling block has not been resolved. “Ultimately the upgrades are there to just bring lap time and bring performance. They’re not set out just to improve handling. A perfect upgrade is one that kind of brings lap time and at the same time brings a handling upgrade, especially with how tricky the car’s been.”

“I would say maybe there’s a small change in the right direction, that it seems just a little bit more straightforward to drive,” he said, noting at least some improvement. “I would say maybe there’s a small change in the right direction, that it seems just a little bit more straightforward to drive. But I don’t think we can ever judge things over just one track.”

What does McLaren expect from Saturday and qualifying? “Tomorrow is going to be very, very wet. So I would bring your rain jacket, cover for the camera, and get a hat as well,” Norris said with a smile.