Lando Norris believes McLaren’s latest upgrades have delivered an encouraging step forward following a competitive opening day at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP. The Briton topped FP1 before finishing second in FP2, while the team gathered positive data from its new package.
McLaren arrived at Interlagos with updates to its front and rear wings, alongside smaller floor modifications, as it looked to recover performance after several challenging weekends. The team also split its testing programme across Friday’s sessions to evaluate the new components before deciding whether to commit to the complete package for the remainder of the weekend.
Norris set the pace in FP1 with a 1:11.717, finishing 0.082 seconds ahead of newly crowned World Champion Kimi Antonelli. However, Mercedes responded in FP2, with Antonelli setting a 1:10.763 to finish 0.253 seconds ahead of Norris. Oscar Piastri completed the afternoon session in fifth, just 0.068 seconds behind his McLaren teammate.
Norris sees encouraging signs from upgrades
Speaking after Friday’s running, Norris admitted that McLaren’s early performance at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP had exceeded expectations, although Mercedes appeared to hold an advantage during the afternoon.
“Yeah, I would say so. Certainly FP1 was a little bit of a surprise, a pleasant surprise. FP2 I think we seem to struggle a little bit more compared to the Mercedes, just two tenths off on every lap basically.”
“But relative to some of the others, I think we seem pretty good. The upgrades, even though I had half and then half, and we’re going to put everything together for tomorrow, the upgrades also seem to have given what we hoped for, I would say. So I think it’s been a good day in terms of getting through the run plan and also a good day for relative performance.”
Beyond outright lap time, McLaren also hoped the modifications would improve the MCL40’s balance and make it easier for its drivers to extract performance.
Staying cautious
Norris acknowledged a small improvement in the car’s behaviour but warned against drawing firm conclusions after just one circuit.
“It’s tricky to say. You’re always pushing things to the limit, so as soon as you feel something maybe a little bit more comfortable, you automatically push it until you find the limit again. Ultimately the upgrades are there to just bring lap time and bring performance.”
“They’re not set out just to improve handling. A perfect upgrade is one that brings lap time and at the same time brings a handling upgrade, especially with how tricky the car’s been. I would say maybe there’s a small change in the right direction that it seems just a little bit more straightforward to drive, but I don’t think we can ever judge things over just one track.”
“But so far for today things have seemed a little bit more straightforward, which is a good thing.”
McLaren pleased with initial upgrade data
McLaren’s Racing Director Randy Singh, echoed Norris’s positive assessment of the package after the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP’s Friday sessions.
The team used FP1 to evaluate its new components, with reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli replacing Piastri for the opening session. The Italian finished 11th while helping McLaren gather valuable information during its testing programme.
Singh praised Fornaroli’s contribution and confirmed that the initial results matched the team’s expectations.
“It went really well. I think the upgrades look like they’re delivering as we expected, which is all you can ask for. And Leo [Fornaroli] did a good job for us in P1 of really running some rates and helping us test them in detail.”
“So yeah, from that side of things, very well.”
McLaren had not yet made its final decision on retaining the complete package, but Singh suggested that the team would likely continue with the upgrades after reviewing the remaining data.
“Yeah, I think that’s very likely. We’ll make the final decision tonight, but all the data so far looks good. But we’ll do our due diligence, check all the data from FP2 as well.”
“But yeah, I think likely all the upgrades will stay on.”
McLaren targets qualifying gains
Despite the promising start, McLaren faces a difficult challenge against Mercedes, which demonstrated particularly strong pace during FP2.
Singh nevertheless took encouragement from both drivers’ performances, particularly Piastri’s ability to return to the car and immediately produce competitive lap times despite missing FP1.
“Yeah, I think both drivers, I’d say Oscar [Piastri] having missed FP1, he’s done really well, like immediately on the pace, which is not easy when you miss the first session and with the slightly drizzly, mizzly conditions that we’ve had today. Both drivers competitive. I think hopefully the upgrades have moved us a small step forwards compared to recent events, but it just remains always so tight.”
“We’re going to have to make sure we optimise qualifying to get a good result.”
The competitive order underlined those fine margins. Just 0.068 seconds separated Norris in second from Piastri in fifth during FP2, with Max Verstappen and George Russell splitting the McLaren pair.
With both cars showing encouraging pace, McLaren will now focus on translating its Friday performance into a stronger qualifying result.
Weather could complicate McLaren’s progress
Conditions may prove another important factor as the São Paulo weekend develops. Interlagos experienced unsettled weather during Friday’s sessions, while forecasts pointed towards further rain.
The circuit’s resurfacing also raised questions about tyre degradation, although Singh did not expect the changes to have a significant influence compared to the weather.
“I think it’s hard to say. The resurfacing is quite patchy and I know it’s slightly different to what the FIA had intended for the circuit to have done. But we don’t think it will have a major impact.”
“Today and Sunday’s race are expected to be quite poor conditions. So I think that plus the rain is going to have a bigger impact than any resurfacing.”
For McLaren, Friday offered early evidence that its latest development package has moved the team in the right direction. Norris appeared more comfortable behind the wheel, both drivers finished FP2 inside the top five, and Singh expressed confidence in the upgrade data.
However, with Mercedes retaining a clear advantage at the front during FP2 and unpredictable conditions potentially affecting the remainder of the weekend, McLaren still has work to do before qualifying.
The team will hope that combining the complete package and building on Friday’s progress allows Norris and Piastri to challenge closer to the front at Interlagos.
