Lando Norris has requested greater focus than ever before from McLaren to address his critical concerns over slow speed performance with the MCL40. Following back-to-back victories at the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix, the British driver has firmly inserted himself into the championship conversation, yet he insists the current package is still missing a vital piece of the puzzle.
While Norris acknowledged that no rival car currently touches McLaren in high-speed sections, he pointed out that a massive deficit exists when compared to Mercedes in slow speed corners. "My pace advantage to Mercedes in Turn 7, 8 was crazy, but their advantage that they have to us in slow speed is also crazy," Norris stated after his dominant weekend at Zandvoort.
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SubscribeThe reigning driver sits 83 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, a gap that can theoretically be overturned during the second half of the season. However, Norris remains cautious about his title retention prospects, explaining that tight and twisty circuits expose the underlying handling limitations of the MCL40.
To counteract this weakness, Norris has called on his engineering team and factory staff to avoid complacency and work harder than ever before. "I need the guys and girls to work and focus better than ever before to improve on these areas, because until we do that, it is still going to be a very tough end of the season," he added.
Andrea Stella and Mercedes Respond to Development Race
The ongoing development battle at the front of the grid has intensified tensions between leading team principals as the 2026 season progresses. Mercedes is preparing its next wave of upgrades, though team boss Toto Wolff previously suggested that Mercedes lacks the financial headroom to match its rivals" development rate for the remainder of the year.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella quickly challenged that theory, publically expressing skepticism over Wolff's financial constraints claims. Meanwhile, McLaren recently secured its long-term future by locking down Norris with a lucrative contract extension that runs through the end of the 2030 season, reflecting absolute mutual confidence.
Norris explained that while recent upgrades have generally elevated the entire package across most metrics, targeted solutions are still required for proper low-speed agility. The team must weigh short-term setup adjustments against upcoming aerodynamic solutions to conquer the remaining rounds on the calendar.
As the Formula 1 paddock shifts its focus to the historic high-speed layout of Monza, Norris remains hopeful that clever engineering breakthroughs can unlock the missing pace. Whether McLaren can successfully eradicate its slow-speed vulnerability will ultimately dictate the outcome of the title fight.