After a promising Friday at Spa-Francorchamps, Lando Norris discusses expectations at McLaren ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix
Despite finishing P2 in the second free practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, World Champion Lando Norris remains extremely skeptical. “I’m still not happy with the car,” he said on Friday after both sessions. “It’s still very, very difficult to drive, but we seem to be a bit closer.”
“But,” said the world champion, “we’re always pretty close in Friday’s free practice sessions. I think we’re just showing more pace than some of our rivals. From what we can see, we’ve made some progress between FP1 and FP2 and seem to be quite competitive.”
In the first free practice session, Oscar Piastri finished in fifth place, while Norris ended the session in seventh. They were about four and eight-tenths of a second off Max Verstappen’s fastest time, respectively. In the second free practice session, Norris finished just under two-tenths of a second behind leader Kimi Antonelli, while Piastri was nearly a full second off the pace in sixth place.
“We shouldn’t get our hopes up too soon,” Norris said. “We shouldn’t expect anything extraordinary.”
The McLaren driver added: “We’re lacking deployment everywhere. To be honest, we’re lacking it on every straight. It’s worst at Blanchimont. We go from 320 km/h to 270 there because we’re simply running out of battery. That’s why we’re clipping speed on every straight.”
The problem Norris and Piastri are struggling with on the Ardennes roller coaster doesn’t seem to affect the Mercedes factory team. If you compare Norris’s and Antonelli’s best lap times at GP pace, massive differences between the two cars are immediately apparent.
Heading toward Eau Rouge, Norris loses a bit of speed compared to the Mercedes. Consequently, the MCL40 likely uses less electrical energy on the downhill section, conserving it instead for the following Kemmel straight. In contrast, Antonelli begins “superclipping” earlier on the approach to the Les Combes chicane.
Norris also manages his energy differently on the rest of the circuit, for example at the exit of Pouhon. Here, the lap times of the two drivers are at times extremely close. Nevertheless, Antonelli ultimately remains in the lead and, as Norris pointed out, is able to use significantly more energy in Blanchimont to extend his lead.
“I think we still have some room for improvement with the deployment,” said McLaren’s technical director Neil Houldey. “Everyone has opportunities for the rest of the weekend to find the perfect deployment.”
The technical director emphasizes that the team is quite satisfied with the performance in free practice. Nevertheless, Houldey admits: “Lando got the most out of the car during the session. That’s why I don’t think we’re really in second place.”
At Spa, McLaren is using modified rear wing end plates and a rear wing designed for lower drag. As for Mercedes, in addition to a new rear wing, the Silver Arrows have also optimized the winglets on the rear axle and the front wing end plate.
It’s not just because of the upgrades that the picture remains unclear after Friday. Due to the track’s high energy demands and the question of the perfect deployment strategy, the gaps in FP2 were unusually large. Additionally, Norris will start this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix with a grid penalty due to new engine components.
