Lando Norris 2026 Barcelona F1 shakedown running began later than most his rivals, with McLaren arriving late to the five-day event by design. The reigning champions waited until the final three days to put the MCL40 on track, prioritising full assembly and system validation over early visibility.
By Friday evening, the Woking team had completed 291 laps and 1,355 kilometres, enough to leave Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a workable baseline rather than headline lap times. Norris was “reasonably happy” at the Barcelona shakedown with what the team has collected during their three-day programme.
The opening day belonged solely to him. Seventy-seven laps, third fastest overall, and the first meaningful look at how McLaren’s 2026 car behaved under the new technical regulations. The focus was never outright pace. Instead, Norris and the engineers worked methodically through systems checks, understanding how the chassis, electronics, power unit and tyres interacted under real track loads.
At the end of the week, Norris framed the test in practical terms.
“Reasonably, yeah. I think it’s so easy to get caught up in comparisons. It’s just because we’re all competitive, so you always want to see yourself doing well and feeling like you can be quick.
“But I think we understood a lot, both in lower-fuel stuff, higher-fuel stuff, the tyres, just, yeah, what we came here to do really, which is understand the car, especially from a reliability point of view.”
Norris shared that he used the Barcelona shakedown mostly to get comfortable with the car
Reliability was always at the centre of McLaren’s programme. Lando Norris’ 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown was to ensure every core system behaved as expected, rather than chasing time sheets that offered little long-term value.
“Make sure that all the sensors are working as they should, the PUs are working as they should, gearbox, whatever it is, everything just doing as we expect.”
That emphasis was tested on the second day, when Oscar Piastri’s running was cut short by a fuel-system issue. McLaren stopped early, investigated the fault and ensured the car was fully prepared for the final day. The interruption cost mileage, but it reinforced why the team had structured the test conservatively in the first place.
Friday delivered the clean running McLaren needed. Norris and Piastri shared the MCL40 across 166 laps, with Norris completing an 80-lap stint. Longer runs, setup variation and race-style usage replaced basic shakedown checks. By then, Norris felt the car was already familiar.
“From my side, yeah, just to get back comfy with the car. Some little bits I need to change here and there, but otherwise, yeah, you know, it still feels like a race car, still feels fast, and still enjoyable.”
Lando Norris stressed the need to learn from rivals
Adapting to the 2026 F1 regulations and the new power unit remains an ongoing process. Norris was clear that Barcelona only offered outlines, not answers.
“It’s certainly one of the biggest changes I’ve had to get used to. Yeah, figuring it out, you know, it still takes time, and this is just one track.
“Every track we’re going to go to, there’s going to be different ways of doing it and figuring it all out.”
Beyond the cockpit, Norris highlighted how the shakedown feeds directly into McLaren’s simulator and development work ahead of the official Bahrain test. McLaren’s sim team representative Jake Benham was at the shakedown and it shows how seriously the team takes this aspect of development.
“Now that we have our understanding of tyres and how the car performs on track, with Oscar’s, mine, and then Jake’s work, and Will and the other guys back in the factory, they can all try and make that into the best correlated car possible.”
The wider competitive picture remains deliberately blurred. Other teams ran more mileage, and Norris acknowledged the natural tendency to look sideways at rivals.
“You always have to be willing to accept that sometimes people can do a better job, and you want to learn from them.”
Still, the mood inside McLaren is steady rather than reactive. Barcelona was about validation, not verdicts. As the team turns its focus to Bahrain, Norris’ key takeaways show the car is reliable, understandable and ready for refinement.
