Lando Norris has addressed a long standing ‘unique’ McLaren Formula 1 car trait that has characterised challengers from Woking in the modern era.
McLaren drivers of the modern era have often cited the Woking marque’s cars as unique to drive, with weak front ends and unintuitive braking and corner entry leading to heavy, straight-line braking followed by a delicate pedal release.
Daniel Ricciardo became a high profile victim of this during his ill-fated two year tenure at the team, as the car fundamentally went against his driving style.
With the introduction of the 2026 technical regulations, car philosophy has changed again, leading to a different challenge.
Norris has acknowledged the differences, but revealed he could not say for certain if the characteristics of the MCL40 are down to the regulations, or McLaren’s unique car designs.
“I certainly think this year’s car is different to last year by quite a long way, and again, you have to adapt to that,” Norris said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“I don’t know if this car is that different to other cars. I still believe it is, because it has been since I’ve been part of McLaren. Everyone who’s driven a McLaren has said how odd and unique a McLaren is to drive, and there’s been a good number of drivers who have said that and tested other cars at the same time.
“It’s hard to know if that’s a split between McLaren, but I’m speaking from what I know from last year’s car, an era of car to this year’s car.
“You have to drive it in a very different way, and there’s a lot of things I’ve had to adapt to at the beginning of the year to understand this year’s car, but I don’t think I have the ability to differentiate if it’s a McLaren thing or so.”
Tyres key for Lando Norris
Norris did make the admission that tyre management is a different beast in 2026, with adapting to this particular aspect of the rules proving crucial.
“I am 90% sure that it is more than just the mechanical balance, and the way that this car is made compared to the last few years is quite different,” Norris added.
“The tyres are obviously very different at the same time, smaller and have less temperature, and all of these different things.
“Therefore, you have to adapt to them more this year, compared to last year.”
Norris’ admission demonstrates the journey of discovery the drivers are on with these new rules, with time likely the only antidote to the challenges of understanding their new unique characteristics.
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