Lando Norris
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Lando Norris could not repeat his British Grand Prix success last year in 2026 as he struggled with his McLaren.
The defending champion would have been searching for another strong result on home soil, but McLaren lacked the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari all weekend.
Norris qualified sixth for the Sprint and the British Grand Prix, with the MCL40 lacking one-lap pace. He did score a podium on Saturday with P3, but the Brit was largely uncompetitive on Sunday.
The driver ratings for the British Grand Prix are locked in. What do you make of our scores?
Lando Norris thought he would crash on most corners as he struggled with the rear wing at the British GP
Norris was not happy about McLaren’s pace, abruptly ending his media pen duties on Saturday after being questioned about Mercedes’ power unit. The Woking outfit used an older spec at Silverstone, which may explain their deficit.
But it was not just the engine that was the problem for Norris, as he appeared to be struggling with the rear wing. McLaren have been experimenting with the ‘Macarena’ design that Ferrari and Red Bull have adopted, but they are yet to use it at a race.
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The team still clearly have work to do at the rear of the car, evidenced by Norris’ worrying claim over the radio during the British GP. Pulling into the pits, McLaren cleaned his rear wing as it had been causing him issues.
But the extent of the problem was highlighted when Norris said over the radio: “Do I even have a rear wing?” Race engineer Will Joseph then replied: “We see dropouts from turn 10 to 13. turn 15 entry, and turn 1.”
The 26-year-old went on to finish fourth. He had offered little competition to the fight for the podium and was helped in part by Max Verstappen’s late retirement and subsequent safety car finish.
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In the TV pen after the race, Norris explained his issues with the rear wing, saying that he felt like he was going to crash at ‘most corners’.
He told ORF: “Yeah, it was quite disappointing with the pace today. The car was, maybe the hardest car I’ve ever driven.
“Most corners, I thought I was going to crash today to be honest. I need to work on things, the team need to work on a lot of things.”
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