Lando Norris calls on McLaren to improve after frustrating Silverstone weekend as revealing team radio surfaces
Lando Norris’ fourth-place finish at the British Grand Prix largely went under the radar following Charles Leclerc’s victory, Max Verstappen’s retirement, the late Safety Car drama, and the misfortune that struck championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
However, while the final result itself attracted little attention, the reigning Formula 1 World Champion’s comments after the race painted a much more revealing picture of McLaren’s current situation.
Both during the Silverstone weekend and after Sunday’s Grand Prix, Lando Norris openly admitted that the Woking-based team still has significant areas to improve if it wants to maximise its performance and consistently fight for podiums.
A revealing team radio after the Sprint
The first signs of Lando Norris’ frustration emerged immediately after the Sprint race. Despite a solid performance, the British driver delivered an unusually sharp radio message to the team, almost pleading for a cleaner execution ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“Great job, but guys, let’s do things properly for once, please!” Lando Norris said after taking the chequered flag.
His race engineer, Will Joseph, responded by reassuring him: “We’ve got good data to make sure we do things properly tomorrow.”
When journalists later asked him about the message, Lando Norris made it clear that his criticism was directed at the team’s overall execution rather than any single incident.
“We need to improve as a team,” he explained. “I don’t need to go into details, but there are areas where we simply need to do a better job. It’s quite straightforward. These are things that are limiting our performance and our potential to score podiums and points when it matters. They’re simply areas where we need to improve as a team.”
Lando Norris remains dissatisfied despite finishing fourth
If the Sprint radio hinted at growing frustration, Lando Norris’ assessment after the British Grand Prix was even more direct.
Despite crossing the finish line in fourth place, the McLaren driver admitted he was far from satisfied with the overall performance of the weekend: “Everything apart from the result was pretty disappointing,” Lando Norris admitted. “Honestly, I don’t know how we managed to finish fourth.”
The reigning World Champion acknowledged that reliability had become increasingly important in Formula 1, especially after the problems suffered by Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen at Silverstone: “I don’t know exactly what happened to Antonelli and Verstappen, but a big part of it is avoiding mistakes and being reliable. We managed to do that, but our pace was pretty poor,” he said.
Lando Norris then delivered perhaps his strongest criticism of the current McLaren package.
“It wasn’t enjoyable. It’s not a nice car to drive. It’s one of the most difficult cars I’ve ever driven in Formula 1. There are many things that we need to improve,” he concluded.
While McLaren continues to collect valuable points, Lando Norris’ unusually candid remarks suggest the reigning champion expects considerably more from both the car and the team’s overall execution as the 2026 Formula 1 season enters its decisive phase.
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