McLaren arrives at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix on the back of two consecutive Lando Norris victories, but Monza could expose some of the MCL40’s less favourable characteristics. Norris has highlighted concerns over straight-line speed and McLaren’s shorter gear ratios, while Oscar Piastri admits he is still searching for a more natural feeling with Formula 1’s new generation of cars.
With media day completed, attention now turns fully towards the action at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Much of the spotlight is inevitably on championship leader Kimi Antonelli and on Ferrari with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, but McLaren is another team attracting considerable interest after its recent surge in performance.
The Woking squad arrives at the Temple of Speed after enabling Lando Norris to win the last two Grands Prix, first in Budapest and then at Zandvoort. Those results have reinforced the impression that McLaren has made a significant technical recovery, but Monza presents a very different examination of the MCL40.
McLaren faces major Monza test after recent progress
McLaren heads into the Italian Grand Prix with several questions still to answer. The team has been improving rapidly, helped by a sequence of updates that have strengthened the car during the second half of the season. The Hungary package in particular delivered encouraging results, with the MCL40 upgrades exceeding expectations in Budapest.
A strong performance at Monza would provide another important indication that McLaren’s progress is not limited to particular circuit types. The Italian track, however, features several characteristics that could work against the strengths the MCL40 has demonstrated so far.
McLaren has generally looked most comfortable at circuits requiring higher levels of downforce, where the car needs to be firmly planted and capable of generating confidence through the corners. The picture has been less convincing on layouts dominated by very high top speeds, long straights and heavy braking zones leading into slower corners where precision on entry becomes crucial.
That description fits Monza particularly well. Long periods at full throttle are interrupted by demanding braking zones for the first chicane, the Variante della Roggia and other slower sections, creating a combination that could highlight the weaknesses McLaren has been working to address.
Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri acknowledged the challenge during their pre-race media duties, albeit while discussing different aspects of the MCL40. Neither believes a strong McLaren result should be taken for granted.
McLaren brings rotating rear wing to Italian GP
Straight-line speed is an especially important subject for Andrea Stella’s team at Monza. McLaren is also preparing to run its own version of the rotating rear-wing concept, with the aim of reducing drag and recovering performance along the circuit’s long straights.
That solution itself adds another unknown. McLaren must establish whether the system works exactly as expected in Monza conditions or whether extracting its full potential will require further optimisation.
The challenge is particularly relevant because similar concepts have not always proved straightforward for rival teams. Red Bull, for example, has experienced difficulties in extracting consistent performance from parts of its 2026 package, especially with Max Verstappen.
Lando Norris explains McLaren’s Monza top-speed concern
Lando Norris focused on one of the most important limitations McLaren faces: the combination of high straight-line speeds and the need for precision when braking into low-speed corners.
The reigning world champion knows Monza could prove demanding because McLaren opted for shorter gear ratios than Mercedes at the beginning of the season. Those ratios can bring advantages in some conditions but could work against the MCL40 on the exceptionally long straights of the Italian circuit.
“We can’t change them, so there’s not much we can do,” Norris explained. “I know we’ve had different ratios since the start of the year: sometimes it works in our favour, sometimes it doesn’t. This is one of the races where the choice probably doesn’t particularly favour us.”
“I don’t know what the actual impact on lap time is. Sometimes you gain, sometimes you lose. That’s just the situation.”
Norris pointed specifically to Mercedes’ efficiency as one of the benchmarks McLaren must try to compensate for elsewhere around the lap.
“It’s a factor that is outside our control at the moment, so we’ll try to maximise the package we have. We know Mercedes’ efficiency is extremely high and that’s where we lose ground compared with them; we’ll try to compensate in every other way possible. We’ve managed to do that in recent weeks and we want to try again here.”
His comments offer a straightforward assessment rather than an attempt to lower expectations. McLaren knows exactly where some of its disadvantages lie and must find performance in other areas of the car to offset them.
At the same time, there are reasons not to assume the MCL40 will automatically struggle. Circuits where outright power and top speed have been less decisive have undoubtedly played to McLaren’s strengths, but Norris also produced a strong qualifying performance at Spa, showing that the car can remain competitive beyond purely high-downforce layouts.
Oscar Piastri still searching for confidence in the MCL40
Oscar Piastri approaches Monza with a different problem. The Australian has endured a difficult 2026 season and has frequently struggled to match his team-mate’s race pace, although there were more encouraging signs in Hungary and the Netherlands.
Piastri openly admitted that the characteristics of the current cars have made it harder for him to find the natural feeling he enjoyed in previous seasons.
“There are things this year that haven’t been as straightforward or as natural compared with the past. Some things can be fixed quickly, others can’t. I think these cars in general have a very different concept and the tyres are quite different.”
“There are also a lot of factors that are outside our control. This season hasn’t been easy for other reasons as well: we’ve had quite a few reliability problems and some unlucky moments.”
The difficulty is not simply one recurring weakness. Piastri says the problems tend to change from one weekend to another, complicating the task of finding one clear solution. McLaren has already been studying why Piastri has struggled to match Norris in the MCL40, with both driving style and car characteristics forming part of the picture.
“I don’t think it’s ever the same problem or the same aspect that we’re chasing every weekend,” Piastri explained. “It’s always slightly different, and that raises a bigger question.”
“If it were one recurring problem, in some ways it would be easier to solve. The fact that we’ve encountered difficulties in different forms has pushed us to look for more complex answers.”
“We’re getting closer to the solution and gathering new ideas, but ultimately the only real way to solve things is to try them on track.”
Piastri says McLaren still has no definitive solution
Piastri stressed that neither he nor McLaren has suddenly discovered one definitive answer to his difficulties, although there are now clearer ideas about what can be improved.
“I’m not saying that we went home and identified the exact problem, but we definitely have ideas about how to improve, both from the point of view of my driving style and in terms of the car set-up.”
“Hopefully we can find something that works better. At Zandvoort, qualifying represented a big step forward. Lando and I were very close, but in the race a clear gap emerged. That’s exactly the area we’re trying to work on.”
His comments reflect a wider technical challenge already acknowledged within McLaren, with Andrea Stella having identified key areas the team still needs to improve despite its recent results.
Monza will show how complete McLaren’s recovery really is
McLaren therefore arrives at the Italian Grand Prix with genuine momentum but also with questions that Monza’s unusual layout could make even more visible.
Norris has won the last two races and demonstrated that the MCL40 has taken a significant step forward, but straight-line efficiency and the trade-offs created by McLaren’s gearbox choices could become more important than they were in Budapest or Zandvoort.
Piastri, meanwhile, continues to work towards a more consistent relationship with the 2026 car. His improved qualifying performance in the Netherlands provided encouragement, but the subsequent race pace deficit showed that the job is not yet complete.
The Italian Grand Prix will therefore provide an important indication of whether McLaren’s recent development gains are broad enough to overcome the MCL40’s less favourable characteristics. A strong Monza weekend would strengthen the argument that the Woking team has become a consistent threat across very different circuits; a more difficult performance would highlight exactly where further work is still required.
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