McLaren desperate to address tyre issue that’s leaving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri vulnerable

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren are eager to address their issues with graining on the hard compound Pirelli tyres after seeing how much it cost Lando Norris in the 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix.

Norris started his defence of the F1 drivers’ championship at Albert Park last Sunday. But the Australian GP did not leave McLaren feeling that optimistic about their chances for the early rounds of the 2026 F1 season, after Norris finished the race 51.741 seconds behind the lead.

Mercedes racer George Russell converted pole position into the victory in Melbourne ahead of his teammate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Ferrari also bagged third and fourth place last week with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who even held a 35.597s margin over Norris in P5.

McLaren were a one-car team in the Australian GP after Oscar Piastri crashed during his laps to the grid prior to the race. Piastri blamed a 100kw power surge for his crash in Melbourne, along with his tyres not yet being up to temperature and running the exit kerb out at Turn 4.

How do you expect Oscar Piastri to respond to his Australian GP crash at the Chinese GP?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

McLaren make improving their front tyre graining on the hard Pirelli tyres a crucial task

McLaren have combed through Norris’ data from the Australian GP since last Sunday’s race, which Formula Technica now reports has ‘confirmed’ to the Woking natives that the MCL40 is more prone to front tyre graining when on the hardest compound than any of their rivals.

READ MORE: Five things we learnt from the 2026 Australian GP after Oscar Piastri crashed

Norris only stayed on the C3 compound Pirelli tyres, which were the hard tyres at the 2026 Australian GP, for 23 laps before switching back to a set of the C4 mediums. He made his pit stops on Lap 11 and Lap 34, as his lack of pace on the C3s left the Briton in a defensive race.

McLaren now see improving their tyre management as a ‘crucial’ task, as their issues in the Australian GP threaten to leave Norris and Piastri ‘vulnerable’ when they have to use harder tyres in the upcoming races. The C3 tyres may even be a bigger issue for McLaren in China.

Race-winner Russell dealt with some tyre graining during the Australian GP, as well, but the Mercedes man was able to clean his tyres to avoid a significant drop-off in pace. Russell and his Silver Arrows teammate Antonelli were also both able to make a one-stop strategy work.

McLaren face a tricky Chinese Grand Prix, as low temperatures make tyre graining likely

Pirelli has confirmed that the C2, C3 and C4 tyres will act as the hard, medium and soft tyres at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. As round two of the 2026 season will also see the first F1 Sprint of the year, McLaren will have even less time to try to sort any tyre graining issues.

Additionally, the weather forecast for the 2026 Chinese GP threatens to throw yet another hurdle at McLaren. The forecast for Shanghai this weekend shows maximum temperatures of 15°C on Friday, plus 17°C on Saturday and 19°C on Sunday, and lows of 3°C, 4°C and 7°C.

Low temperatures generally increase the risk of tyre graining, as the cooler conditions make it more difficult to get the tyres in the right operating window. McLaren will hope the circuit layout in Shanghai can at least mitigate some of their tyre graining problems this weekend.