Lando Norris was cautious about McLaren’s apparent step up in performance after his victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, saying there is “still work to do” for the Woking-based squad.
Norris drove a near-faultless race at Interlagos to take his third win of the season, a race blighted by changeable weather conditions that threatened to wreck havoc up and down the field.
The Brit snatched pole from George Russell on Saturday, and despite losing out to Kimi Antonelli at the start, recovered his position to win by nearly 15 seconds from Max Verstappen.
McLaren was noted for being the only team to bring performance upgrades to its car this weekend, perhaps a surprise given the late stage of the season, where focus has already long-shifted towards 2027 development.
But the front wing in itself is an early concept of what the current MCL40’s successor will have, and it appears to have paid dividends for Norris in Brazil.
After telling media that his victory was “certainly up there with the best I’ve ever had,” Norris acknowledged the new wing improved the car’s performance, but countered that generally speaking, McLaren is still behind its rivals in the top four.
“Who knows? I don’t,” he said, when asked how much the wing kicks things forward. “I won the race, so that’s all I care about for now.
“I think if we look at the stats of the practice sessions and stuff, we were generally always a tenth or two tenths behind the top. The upgrades we brought this weekend were great. They worked as they should have done, so if we didn’t bring them, we’d be further behind. Simple as that.
“But it’s still not enough. They’re not enough to say you’re suddenly always the quickest. I think on a day like today, it’s not all about that. It’s about good strategy, good pit stops, driving well and not making mistakes. I certainly had a car that I could fight for a win with today, and that’s very important. Those things would help.
“It’s hard to quantify how much it’s helped, but upgrades always do, and they worked well. So, the team has done a very good job.”
Lando Norris: McLaren ‘getting there slowly’
McLaren went all out last year to produce a car good enough to win both championships, perhaps to the detriment of its 2026 challenger. And whilst victories have been forthcoming, consistency in performance has not.
For Norris, there is “work to do” to ensure that he is well placed next year to challenge Antonelli in wrestling back the title he relinquished to the Italian this season.
“But as much as we’re happy we’ve managed to bring things and take a step forward, and come away with a pole and a win, we’re not as happy as we could be because we also know we’re not good enough,” he admitted. “We’re not at the level we need to be.
“We’re not confident in the package we have just yet. We’re getting there slowly. We want to do it quicker, but that’s difficult. We know we still have work to do, and we’re not at the level we need to be to fight for a World Championship just yet.
“So, I’m proud of the team for the work they’re doing, but we all know that we still have work to do.”
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