Lando Norris rues missed Belgian GP podium as McLaren’s Spa race unravels. McLaren misses Belgian GP podium chance after Norris and Piastri setbacks.

A disappointing Belgian Grand Prix for McLaren

One year ago, McLaren dominated at Spa-Francorchamps with a car that faced little competition in terms of the aerodynamic downforce it generated. The situation has changed in 2026, however, with the Woking team often finding itself as the fourth-fastest force on the grid. That was once again the case at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Oscar Piastri finished fifth and Lando Norris crossed the line in seventh.

McLaren nevertheless showed some encouraging signs of progress, while both drivers were heavily affected by incidents during the race. Oscar Piastri’s afternoon was compromised by contact with Charles Leclerc on the Kemmel Straight, which damaged the floor of his car, reduced its performance and increased tyre degradation. Lando Norris, meanwhile, started 13th following the replacement of his control electronics and could have produced an impressive recovery drive to the podium, but an unfavourable Virtual Safety Car period and a problem during his pit stop cost him valuable time.

Lando Norris frustrated by missed podium opportunity

“I have mixed feelings,” Lando Norris explained. “The potential was extremely high this weekend, both in terms of how I felt in the car and our pace, which was probably strong enough to allow us to fight for a podium. I felt very confident with the set-up and knew exactly how the car was going to behave, which is a huge positive for us moving forward.

“It is a shame about the result, because everything that could have made our lives more difficult did exactly that. We were unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car periods, which benefited our rivals, while the delay caused by a technical problem during the pit stop cost us a significant amount of time. That translates directly into track position and points.

“When you have the pace to achieve a very strong result but are held back by unfavourable factors like these, it is frustrating. We will now work to analyse what went wrong and learn from it before returning to the track in Hungary.”

Oscar Piastri explains the impact of Charles Leclerc contact

“We had good pace, particularly during the first stint, and a podium was not out of the question, which is a positive,” Oscar Piastri added. “However, it certainly was not a straightforward race. The damage we suffered after the contact with Charles Leclerc made things much more difficult because we were losing a few tenths of a second per lap.

“I struggled for the remainder of the stint and, although we managed to compensate for some of the loss during the second part of the race, it was still harder than it needed to be. We definitely need a little more performance because it seems as though we are always one step behind.

“We are now looking ahead and hoping the new upgrades we intend to introduce will help us close that gap and compete more consistently. We will see what we can achieve in Hungary.”