Norris reveals a weakness of McLaren
Lando Norris has openly admitted that the McLaren is not a perfect machine, pointing out details that reveal a weakness in the otherwise dominant MCL39. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku was expected to be a decisive moment for McLaren, with both Lando Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri needing only a solid result to secure the Constructors’ Championship. However, things went very differently: after a disastrous qualifying session, Oscar Piastri crashed out just six corners into the race, while Norris never looked comfortable throughout the weekend on the streets of Baku.
Looking back just one race earlier, there is a clear analogy. McLaren faced similar challenges during the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Both circuits share key characteristics, with long straights and heavy braking zones that expose the car’s weaknesses. Adding to the difficulty, the cold temperatures in Azerbaijan further highlighted McLaren’s struggles, turning the MCL39 from the class leader into a beatable car.
The weakness of the McLaren
For two years now, the McLaren has been regarded as the benchmark car in Formula 1. Yet, to the eyes of many observers, one flaw has become obvious: a lack of straight-line speed. The team tried to address this issue last season by introducing a special rear wing at Baku, but the solution was later deemed irregular after inspections (with the exception of that Grand Prix itself). Since then, the British outfit has continued to suffer on low-downforce tracks, a weakness that became evident again at venues like Las Vegas last year.
Speaking to the media, Lando Norris himself acknowledged this limitation. “I don’t think there were huge difficulties, in terms of final pace we weren’t too bad. If I had started second, I would have finished second. We didn’t have the pace of Red Bull; that was very clear, and on tracks with less downforce we still seem to be struggling.”
The British driver added another important reflection: “We’ve had a fantastic season, don’t get me wrong, but it’s clear that there are aspects that are not good enough and that we need to keep working on.”
Despite this weakness, the McLaren MCL39 remains a dominant machine overall, but one that shows its limits on certain tracks. The big question is whether Red Bull’s latest updates will further expose McLaren’s vulnerabilities, putting the Woking team under pressure across all types of circuits.
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