Lando Norris admitted McLaren lacked the pace to fight Charles Leclerc after he finished third in the 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Race at Zandvoort.
Norris started second behind George Russell after a strong Sprint Qualifying, but the McLaren driver could not stay with the Mercedes once the race got underway. Russell made a clean start from pole and quickly built a gap, while Norris settled into second ahead of Leclerc.
However, the Ferrari driver remained within range and eventually made his move on Lap 18. Leclerc passed Norris into Turn 1 and took second place, leaving Norris to complete the Sprint podium in third as rain began to fall near the end.
Speaking after the Sprint, Norris said the result was still solid, but admitted McLaren had not been quick enough.
“Yeah, not a bad result, not the best, would have been nicer to be a little bit faster today, but Charles [Leclerc] was just too quick, so I don’t think it was the tyres, just we lacked pace, we’re not quick enough, and we have some work to do.”
Norris says McLaren struggled in slow-speed corners
Norris had been slightly concerned before the race about the damp inside of the starting grid, but he converted his front-row position well and held second through the opening phase.
The difficulty came later in the race, as Leclerc closed in and Norris reported rear grip issues while trying to keep the Ferrari behind. While Leclerc ran the soft tyre and Norris used the medium, the Briton did not blame the compound choice for losing second place.
Instead, Norris pointed to a broader performance limitation in McLaren’s package at Zandvoort.
“I mean, a difference of things, we’re very good in high speed, we’re just not, the car’s not performing to the level it needs to in the slow speed corners, so there’s not a lot we can do, I think we’re optimising a lot of things, it’s still a good result, I think we still have to be happy with the progress we’ve been making, but just, we need more, so we’ll see what we can do, we’ll work hard, the team are working hard already, so hopefully we can do a better job.”
His comments offered a clear contrast to McLaren’s recent form before the summer break. The team handled hot conditions well in Budapest, but cooler conditions at Zandvoort and the balance demands of the circuit exposed areas where Norris felt the car still needed more.
McLaren left with work to do before main race
Norris’ third place still gave McLaren useful points from the Sprint Race, but the race showed that the team may face a tougher fight than expected across the rest of the F1 Dutch GP weekend.
Russell controlled the Sprint from the front, while Leclerc had enough pace to attack and pass Norris in the closing stages. Kimi Antonelli also closed in late, keeping pressure on Norris in the fight for the final podium place.
For Norris, the message after the Sprint was straightforward. McLaren had made progress, but it still needed more performance to consistently fight Mercedes and Ferrari at Zandvoort.
The result kept Norris on the podium, but it also left McLaren with clear work to do before the Grand Prix.
