The start of the weekend in Austria was far from straightforward for McLaren, even though the MCL40 showed strong baseline potential that the team will look to build upon. Reigning world champion Lando Norris was forced to stop early on due to a hydraulic issue during the first free practice session. The British driver managed to get back out and complete a few laps in the final fifteen minutes, though the bulk of the early program was carried out by Oscar Piastri. The Australian spent the start of the session focusing on experimental work and back-to-back comparisons.
During the second practice session, the Woking-based squad enjoyed a trouble-free run, with Piastri finishing in second place just ahead of his teammate Norris. McLaren concluded Friday with a total of 103 laps under their belt. Notably, their new rotating wing was not used on track, as the team determined it required further preparation.
Houldey: “We didn’t feel confident bringing the rotating wing to the track”
Neil Houldey, Technical Director of the Woking squad, shared his thoughts on their Friday performance: “We’re reasonably happy with the progress made today, although we know there’s still more to extract from the car. Lando did a great job to get up to speed quickly in FP2 after the hydraulic issue cost him most of the opening session, which was very encouraging.” Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend, he added: “While we believe we have room to improve, we’re under no illusions about the level of competition. We expect a very tight battle at the front.”
One of the main talking points surrounded the experimental rotating wing, which was scheduled to debut during the opening practice sessions before plans changed. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to run the experimental wing we brought to the track. The team back at the factory worked tirelessly to get it ready. However, during the final rig tests in the garage, it didn’t deliver the results we hoped for, and we didn’t feel confident using it. The correct decision was to focus our track time on optimizing our current package for this weekend. It’s a shame, but we will do further work on this component before introducing it at a future event.” This running was only intended as a test, with McLaren developing the concept primarily with an eye on next season.
Piastri: “Mercedes are ahead, but it was a productive day for us”
Oscar Piastri cut a satisfied figure at the end of the opening day, especially given his difficult weekend in Barcelona a week ago. “We had a pretty positive day, finishing both sessions well,” he noted. Addressing the apparent advantage held by the Silver Arrows, the Australian remarked: “We knew Mercedes would be a step ahead, and that proved to be the case, but it was still a productive day for us. We worked through a lot of setup items and ticked off some lingering tasks left over from Spain. We did a good job trying different approaches and gaining a better understanding of the car.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s running and McLaren’s overnight optimization work, Piastri remained optimistic. “Heading into tomorrow, there are definitely areas where we can learn overnight to close the gap, but I feel more comfortable and I’m happy with how today went. We’ll focus on small refinements and see where that puts us.” Finally, commenting on the hierarchy among the top teams and Mercedes’ pace, he added: “The time Antonelli set is impressive, especially since it was on his second attempt on that tire. So we have to wait and see if we can come up with something overnight. But there’s still a lot to learn and we’ll see how it goes.”
Norris: “The issue slowed me down, but the pace is encouraging”
Lando Norris faced an early setback due to a hydraulic problem on his car, which cost him valuable track time. “An issue in the first practice session held us back, but once it was resolved, we started making good progress through today’s sessions,” Norris explained. Despite the hitch, the British driver remained upbeat: “Pace-wise, we had a decent day and we’re a bit closer to the cars ahead, which is encouraging.”
The MCL40 looks well-suited to the Spielberg layout, a trend Norris expects to maintain. “This track seems to suit our car’s characteristics, as we’ve seen over the last few years, and that bodes well for the weekend ahead.” Turning his attention to FP3 and the upcoming qualifying sessions, he concluded: “The priority now is to gain more confidence in the car. If we can manage that, I believe we can take another step toward the leading teams. There’s work to do, but the signs are positive. We’ll keep pushing to turn this into a stronger position for tomorrow’s qualifying.”
McLaren’s Friday in Austria proved that the team can quickly pivot and find competitive pace even when hit with unexpected technical hurdles. By focusing on maximizing their existing package over unproven upgrades, the team has kept themselves firmly in the hunt to challenge the frontrunners as the Spielberg weekend intensifies.
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