McLaren’s difficult start to the 2026 Formula 1 season appears to be fading into the background. Following the team’s first major upgrade package introduced in Miami, attention has shifted toward whether McLaren can finally challenge Mercedes at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP.
Both drivers remained cautious about their prospects despite an encouraging Sprint Qualifying performance. Friday’s FP1 session delivered mixed results for McLaren, with Oscar Piastri showing strong pace early on before a late lock-up in a disrupted session featuring three red flags. The Sprint Qualifying proved far more encouraging, however, with both McLarens ending up directly behind the Mercedes cars.
Norris and McLaren three-tenths off the Mercedes in Sprint Qualifying at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP
Lando Norris described Sprint Qualifying as a “good surprise” after securing third place behind the two Mercedes drivers. While the final gap was only around three tenths, Norris admitted McLaren had concerns earlier in the day after struggling for confidence during FP1.
“Yeah, no, very good result actually, no, good surprise. I think after this morning, we were a little bit worried, let’s say, about how far off we were and more just the lack of confidence in the car. But we made some tweaks, we changed some things and seemed to make a good improvement, so I’m happy with third.
The Briton also felt there was still more lap time available, although the relatively small deficit to Mercedes helped ease some pressure. Norris credited the team for reacting quickly between sessions and delivering noticeable improvements ahead of Sprint Qualifying.
“I mean, it wasn’t the best lap, I could have got more out of it, but then when I saw the gap to the guys ahead, not that much. So no, positive turnaround and I’m proud of the team that we managed to do such a good job.”
First time feeling confident in the McLaren
Although encouraged by the progress, Norris stopped short of fully praising McLaren’s upgrades, describing parts of the package as “questionable” given the unique nature of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“I think it certainly felt decent, some things were maybe a bit more questionable and we probably need just more time to review things and look back, especially because it’s such a weird track, it’s so low grip, you’re kind of bouncing off kerbs and stuff, so you’re not getting a true representation of everything and it’s hard to back it up with what we have in the wind tunnel and things like that.
Even so, the reigning world champion admitted this was the first weekend all season where he truly felt comfortable in the car, particularly during the final phase of Sprint Qualifying. Norris believes the 2026 F1 Canadian GP represents a clear step forward, with additional upgrades expected over the next two race weekends.
“So, we need a bit more time with some bits, and I will probably reintroduce some of them next weekend or in Barcelona. But at the same time, the rest of the car, now I think, was clearly working well, and I felt confident in Q3, especially on the soft, which is probably the first time this weekend that I felt that confidence. So now a good step forward and we’ll see what we can improve knowing that into tomorrow.”
Piastri: Mercedes still the benchmark
Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, found Friday to be a bit “messy”. While he echoed Norris’ optimism, he admitted that Mercedes still appears to hold the advantage heading into the Sprint Race. Nevertheless, he also agrees that McLaren will continue to optimise their upgrades during the 2026 Canadian GP Sprint race.
“I mean, it was feeling pretty good, I think a bit of a messy day for everybody, I think, but the Mercedes still looks very strong. So I think that’s probably the biggest takeaway from today, unfortunately, but we’ll see what we can do, see how we can optimise things a bit better and try our best again tomorrow.”
The Australian also touched on race starts, noting McLaren’s confidence in that area compared to Ferrari. Piastri suggested Mercedes’ weaker launches have presented opportunities McLaren hopes to continue exploiting throughout the Canadian GP weekend.
“Yeah, I mean our starts have been better than the Ferraris all year, so we’re confident in ours. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Mercedes gets theirs competitive as well, but until that time comes, we’ll try our best to take advantage of it.”
