Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri admitted that McLaren still lacks the outright performance needed to challenge Formula 1’s leading teams after finishing fifth and seventh respectively at the 2026 United States Grand Prix. Despite introducing a new upgrade package for the Austin weekend, the reigning world champion and his Australian teammate struggled to extract consistent pace from their cars, with qualifying performance, tyre management and the narrow operating window remaining major concerns.
Both McLaren drivers finished in the points at the Circuit of The Americas, but the result fell short of expectations for a team hoping its latest developments would deliver a more competitive weekend. Lando Norris recovered from eighth on the grid to fifth using a one-stop strategy, while Oscar Piastri finished seventh after spending much of the closing stages defending against Mercedes driver George Russell. Their experiences highlighted a shared problem: McLaren’s race execution was largely effective, but the car lacked the performance needed to make further progress.
McLaren’s Austin upgrades fail to deliver the expected improvement
The latest technical package introduced by McLaren at the United States Grand Prix did not produce the fully positive results the Woking-based team had hoped for, either in qualifying or during Sunday’s race. Both drivers encountered difficulties throughout the weekend, particularly when attempting to extract the maximum performance from the car.
Although Lando Norris managed to gain three positions and Oscar Piastri maintained his starting position, neither driver could consistently match the pace required to compete for the leading places. The result reinforced concerns about the car’s predictability and the difficulty of operating within its ideal performance window.
Nevertheless, McLaren was able to maximise several strategic opportunities during the race. Both drivers adopted a medium-to-hard one-stop strategy, an approach that proved particularly important given the tyre-management challenges at Austin. Before the Grand Prix, Pirelli had identified the different one-stop options available at the Circuit of The Americas, including the potential benefits of switching to the hard compound.
Lando Norris explains why fifth place was McLaren’s maximum at Austin
Lando Norris started the United States Grand Prix from eighth position on medium tyres before switching to the hard compound during his pit stop on lap 16. The decision allowed the British driver to complete the remainder of the race without another tyre change, although maintaining performance across the extended second stint proved increasingly difficult.
Before making his stop, Lando Norris had already placed considerable pressure on George Russell. While attempting to defend against the McLaren driver, the Mercedes racer went off the circuit and subsequently received a controversial five-second penalty.
As the leading drivers made their pit stops, Lando Norris climbed as high as second position. However, consistent tyre degradation eventually prevented him from defending a podium position during the closing stages, leaving the reigning world champion fifth at the chequered flag.
“I think I drove a good race, giving myself the best possible chance of achieving a strong result,” Lando Norris commented. “Our pace on the hard tyres was particularly strong, but to stay in contention and take advantage of any Safety Car periods, I had to push the car well beyond its comfort zone. In the end, paying the price for that in the second stint meant that fifth place was the best possible result; I’m satisfied that I got the most out of our package given the circumstances.”
The British driver acknowledged that McLaren’s problems extend beyond tyre management. Although he was pleased with his own performance and the team’s strategic execution, he believes further improvements are necessary before the team can return to challenging consistently at the front.
“The fact remains that we still lack the outright speed needed to fight at the front; that became very clear this weekend. Qualifying performance and the car’s predictability remain our main priorities, but the team is doing a fantastic job and I’m confident that, by addressing these crucial areas, we will be able to achieve strong results in the remaining races.”
Oscar Piastri holds off George Russell for 20 laps despite McLaren struggles
Oscar Piastri experienced an equally demanding United States Grand Prix, eventually finishing seventh, the same position from which he had started. The Australian made his pit stop even earlier than Lando Norris and also completed the race using the hard compound.
Like his teammate, Oscar Piastri encountered increasing tyre wear during the closing stages. Despite those difficulties, he managed to keep George Russell behind him for 20 laps, successfully defending seventh place against the Mercedes driver.
“It was a difficult day,” Oscar Piastri explained. “We simply didn’t have the necessary pace; we continued to struggle, as we had throughout the weekend. The hard compound worked well, allowing us to switch to a one-stop strategy – we had initially planned two – which helped us manage our track position in the second stint and keep George behind, which is a positive.”
The change of strategy was particularly valuable because it allowed McLaren to protect track position without requiring another pit stop. However, Oscar Piastri acknowledged that the team’s difficulties were fundamentally related to performance rather than operational mistakes.
“The strategy was good, as were the start and the pit stop; we just lacked the pace to gain positions. With these cars, when you manage to find the ideal operating window, you get good pace, but finding that balance is extremely difficult.”
McLaren drivers identify qualifying pace and car predictability as priorities
The comments from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri reveal a consistent theme in McLaren’s assessment of its Austin performance. While the team executed its race strategies effectively and both drivers demonstrated that they could manage challenging situations, the car remained difficult to optimise across different conditions.
For Lando Norris, the main priorities are improving qualifying performance and making the car more predictable. Oscar Piastri’s assessment also focused on the difficulty of finding the ideal operating window, even when the car is capable of delivering competitive lap times.
Those limitations are particularly costly when the leading Formula 1 teams are closely matched, as small differences in performance can significantly influence both qualifying positions and race results. McLaren’s challenge is therefore to make its performance more accessible and consistent, rather than relying on strategy alone to compensate for a lack of pace.
Oscar Piastri warns Mexico GP could create further challenges for McLaren
Looking ahead to the next round of the championship, Oscar Piastri believes the Mexican Grand Prix could present another complicated weekend for McLaren. The Australian identified the combination of relatively low grip and high altitude as factors that could make it difficult to extract the required performance.
“Looking ahead to Mexico, we will analyse what we learned here and take it into next weekend, where the combination of low grip and high altitude could prove challenging for us. In any case, we will do everything possible and continue pushing to improve the car’s performance, so that we can maximise both lap time and race pace.”
McLaren therefore leaves Austin with useful points but also several unresolved questions. Lando Norris demonstrated that the team could recover positions through determined driving and strategic execution, while Oscar Piastri showed the defensive resilience required to keep George Russell behind for an extended period.
However, both drivers made clear that the underlying performance deficit remains. With the championship moving directly to Mexico, McLaren’s priority will be to understand the limitations exposed in Austin and make better use of its latest upgrades before the remaining races of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
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