Nov.8 (GMM) McLaren’s late-season upgrade push appears to be paying off, with Lando Norris taking a wet pole position in Brazil as the team tests developments that could shape its 2027 car.
McLaren was the only team to bring major updates to Interlagos, including revised front and rear wings and changes to the floor.
Auto Motor und Sport reports that another completely redesigned floor is planned for Las Vegas, as McLaren attempts to recover from a disappointing second half of 2026.
The team has struggled with a car that produces considerable downforce but only within an extremely narrow operating window.
“If you push it to 98 percent of the limit, you’re too slow. Above 100 percent, you’re too slow too,” Oscar Piastri explained.
“If you hit 100 percent, our McLaren is a winning car. It’s just incredibly difficult to maintain that limit consistently.”
Norris agrees. “You can’t overdrive this car. It bites back.”
The new developments are intended to make the car more predictable, while also providing valuable real-world data for next year’s design.
And Norris was pleasantly surprised by the immediate improvement.
“Being fastest in the first practice session was something I really didn’t expect,” he said.
“It was a pleasant surprise.”
The Briton then secured pole in wet qualifying, although George Russell believed he had the pace to beat him before a strategy error ruined his final attempt.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella confirmed the upgrades appear to be working.
“From what we’ve seen in the three practice sessions, they’re delivering the performance boost we expected,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits Red Bull’s recent resurgence is raising concerns about 2027.
“They have done a very good job and the car and the engine are simply a perfect match now, and then of course there is also Max,” he said.
Wolff admitted Mercedes’ own latest major upgrade had failed to deliver its expected gain.
“We thought we’d find a few tenths of a second with it, but that wasn’t the case, for whatever reason,” he said.
“That’s why they were able to close the gap.”