During the press conference opening the Chinese Grand Prix, Lando Norris stated that he had given up trying to convince McLaren to design a car that fits his driving style.
After the MCL39 proved to be the reference car in Australia, with Lando Norris winning and Oscar Piastri missing out on a one-two finish due to an error in the rain, this might seem contradictory, but Shanghai qualifying appears to have validated the Briton’s concerns.
The championship leader only managed sixth place in Sprint Qualifying, admitting he made too many mistakes but also adding that he finds the current McLaren too difficult to drive.
“I think the car is still good and in a good window, even if maybe not good enough to take pole. But we can definitely be further ahead. Our difficulties showed a lot more today. I made too many mistakes, it’s a car that’s too difficult to drive,” said Lando.
Norris prefers to be aggressive in braking and corner entry, which requires a front end capable of handling such an approach. He described the MCL39 as “rather weak” in these areas and stated that he has adapted his style to this situation. This was evident last weekend in Melbourne, where GPS analysis suggested he demanded less from the car under braking and focused more on exit speed.
Neil Houldey, McLaren’s head of engineering, suggests that Norris’s feelings are closely linked to the team’s decision to extract pure performance from the car.
“I think, as he also said, we stopped asking him what he likes and instead produced a faster car,” Houldey explained when asked by Motorsport.com to clarify Norris’s comments. “We just try to have the fastest car possible, and he is good enough to handle it and adjust his driving style accordingly.”
“If we had focused solely on adapting the car to his driving style, we might have ended up with a slower car. So far, it seems we have taken the right path. And fortunately, Lando is good enough to manage the situation and be fast while driving it.”
As the current regulations mature, teams find it increasingly difficult to improve their cars’ performance without encountering annoying quirks. The floor generates the majority of the downforce, but to maximize its potential, it must stay as close to the track as possible and maintain a stable position despite braking, acceleration, and cornering forces.
Balancing this is a difficult task. Many teams that have pushed to maximize downforce have found that even minor floor movements can cause unpredictable balance shifts in corners. Hard braking naturally induces “dive,” where the rear of the car lifts as weight transfers to the front axle.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown emphasized the team’s focus on pure performance over the winter but still wants to make the MCL39 a bit more “comfortable” before the design team fully shifts its focus to the 2026 car project.
“I think you’re always looking to make the car a little easier for the drivers,” he said in China.
“Yesterday, someone told me it looked like we hadn’t set a proper lap time in Bahrain testing—we tried, but we didn’t manage one. So I think we need to make the car a bit more comfortable.”
“It’s clear that it’s very fast, but when you’re pushing it to ten-tenths, then yes, the drivers want it to be a bit easier.”
In doing so, McLaren must strike a balance between improving driver confidence and sacrificing raw potential.
“We have some innovations on the car that give it a different feel, so it’s clear that Lando adapted quite well in Australia,” Zak Brown added. “We’re trying to make it more comfortable, but we certainly don’t want to make it slower.”
Brown believes part of the solution lies in the drivers gaining experience with the 2025 car, as he expects them to become more comfortable with the “difficult” McLaren as the season progresses.
“Keep in mind that in testing, you only have three days, and the drivers split them. Then in Australia, the race conditions were tricky. I’m sure he’s still getting used to it.”
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