Lando Norris is the man of the moment, coming off six consecutive Grand Prix finishes ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, a streak that has propelled him to the top of the drivers’ championship. The English driver’s surge is not just due to setup choices and his driving style to better exploit the MCL39, but also the adaptation of his qualifying out-lap to the particular challenges of recent circuits. Norris himself admitted surprise at his reduced margin over competitors in Brazil, yet McLaren has little reason to worry, with the championship now within reach.
Two sides of the same coin
McLaren presents a dual narrative as it nears its first drivers’ world title since 2008. While Lando Norris has secured two consecutive wins, Oscar Piastri has struggled to break his streak of disappointing results. In Interlagos, the Australian driver suffered from a double incident during the Sprint and also on race day. Performance-wise, he was closer to Norris than in Mexico, but never really threatened him. Piastri had hoped for a high-grip track in Brazil after difficulties on low-adhesion circuits, but conditions in São Paulo were worse than expected.
Oscar Piastri’s slump is partly explained by Lando Norris’s own progress, not just in mindset. Behind the scenes, Lando has been working closely with the team to maximize performance on a car he struggled to trust early in the season. On-board footage and telemetry show that Norris now manages a car more pointed forward, making it easier to rotate through corners. In Brazil, he also demonstrated comprehensive maturity during a weekend when wind and track conditions changed dramatically day to day, making tire management especially challenging. Yet Norris succeeded, securing pole position in both qualifying sessions.
How tire preparation has evolved
Lando Norris’s skill lies in managing a crucial factor in recent races: adapting his tire preparation to Pirelli’s compound selection relative to track surfaces and circuit lengths. Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer, explains: “To get the tire into the correct operating window, the out-lap needs to be done differently. Previously, the focus was on cooling the rear while warming the front, so both axles were ready. This still applies, but in recent races we needed to put more energy into the tires, especially in Mexico and Brazil, which are 4-kilometer circuits with few corners.”
“On high-grip, long, and high-energy tracks, the opposite is needed: managing temperatures carefully,” Berra continues. “In the last races, conditions required extra energy to get the front tires ready.” Pirelli believes this was the case in Mexico and Brazil, where Norris won both times, aided by asphalt with low roughness, reducing tire hysteresis.
For drivers, understanding the need to push in high-speed corners to warm the front tires during the out-lap was essential: “It’s not a sudden factor, but results from the calendar and tire selection. The driver who best adapts to dropping temperatures and strong gusts, adjusting the out-lap accordingly with guidance from the pit wall, gains a performance advantage.”
The championship is within reach
Lando Norris is now technically much more mature, navigating the unique challenges of Mexico City and Brazil with skill. In Interlagos, he expressed mild surprise at the margin over rivals, which he felt was smaller than expected, likely recalling the half-minute lead in Mexico. However, in Mexico, the MCL39 benefited from warmer conditions that optimized cooling performance. In São Paulo, cooler temperatures were closer to Mercedes’ preferences.
McLaren also paid a strategic price by running a long middle stint on soft tires, which underperformed compared to rivals on medium compounds. The Woking team’s car excels in degradation management, yet in Interlagos, mechanical tire wear was a limiting factor, reaching 100% in some Sprint sessions. Despite these challenges, McLaren has little reason for concern, now on the verge of securing the drivers’ championship, with Lando Norris poised to claim the title.
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