Lando Norris explains why he loved driving Ayrton Senna’s title-winning McLaren more than his 2025 F1 car

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Lando Norris is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Ayrton Senna and become the eighth driver to win a Formula 1 world championship with McLaren.

Heading into the United States Grand Prix with six races to go, McLaren will be feeling confident that one of their drivers is going to become world champion this year.

Oscar Piastri currently leads Lando Norris by 22 points in the drivers’ championship.

It would only take one mistake or mechanical issue for Norris to take the lead in the standings, which would have seemed unlikely just a couple of months ago.

However, Norris’ failure at Zandvoort, followed by Piastri’s nightmare Azerbaijan Grand Prix, highlights that anything could happen between now and the end of the campaign.

In the build-up to the next race in Austin, Piastri and Norris visited McLaren’s factory in Woking.

The pair were taking part in an event to thank McLaren staff and their friends and family for their hard work after clinching a second consecutive constructors’ championship.

It gave both drivers the opportunity to drive Ayrton Senna’s legendary 1991 MP4/6, and Norris described why he preferred it to this year’s McLaren F1 car.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Lando Norris prefers the ‘raw emotion’ of Ayrton Senna’s 1991 Formula 1 car

In an interview at McLaren’s factory shared on YouTube, Norris was asked about Senna’s car and explained: “I was driving the MP4/6, warmed it up for Oscar, so he’s ready to go.

“So it was cool. Like, we didn’t get a lot of opportunities to drive some of these cars.

“They’re very different to these kinds of ones that we drive nowadays.

“They sound a lot better, they look better, they drive better, and so it was good fun, but now I get to go into the TPC car, which is not as good.

“But it’s still it’s still nice to go and put on a little show for everyone here.”

Norris was asked how he dealt with having to use a clutch pedal in Senna’s car and explained: “Yeah, I have to get used to a third pedal, but no, it’s good fun.

“I mean, it just sounds incredible. It’s pretty bumpy, so we try and go as quickly as we can past everyone.

“It gets pretty sketchy, so watch out. But it’s cool, it’s just different.

“It’s a more raw emotion when you’re driving the car. It feels different, like it hurts your ears a little bit. So it’s cool.”

READ MORE: All to know about Ayrton Senna including Alain Prost rivalry and Imola crash

What did Ayrton Senna achieve in his 1991 McLaren as Lando Norris comparison drawn

The 1991 Formula 1 season saw Senna win his third and final drivers’ championship with McLaren.

The previous season came to a controversial end as Senna and Prost clashed at the Japanese Grand Prix, securing the title for the Brazilian.

Prost departed to join Ferrari and blocked Senna from joining him, leading to McLaren signing Gerhard Berger.

Senna won seven races in 1991, fending off Williams driver Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese to secure the title with a race to go.

Norris has been compared to Senna this season, and he’ll need to deliver several performances reminiscent of the Brazilian to win his first title.

Senna was ruthless when it came to battling his teammates, and it’s only appropriate that Piastri has drawn comparison to Prost, as he’ll need to defeat the Australian in the same way that Senna took down the four-time world champion.