(Motorsport-Total.com) – McLaren missed the pole position for the sprint race in Zandvoort (follow Formula 1 2026 live in the ticker), but with second and fourth places, they are certainly within striking distance for a good result on Saturday. “That’s something I can reasonably live with overall,” says world champion Lando Norris, who was only 0.041 seconds off George Russell’s best time.
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Although he admits to being a bit disappointed to have missed first place by such a narrow margin, on the other hand, he also knows that it could have just as easily gone the other way: “You could just as well have been first or also fourth, fifth,” he says. Because the gap between first and fourth is not even a tenth of a second.
Earlier in SQ2, McLaren had occupied first and second positions, but in the decisive section, Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri could no longer improve enough: “I think the switch to the softs simply brought a bit more grip, which I couldn’t quite optimally use after switching from medium to soft for Q3,” says Norris.
“Maybe I just overdid it a bit.”
Piastri expresses a similar view, who ended up fourth at the wrong end of the tight front field: “The lap on the softs just wasn’t quite as good,” admits the Australian. “I have the feeling that this happens more often this year: You put on the soft tires and the balance is no longer quite as pleasant as on the mediums.”
Nevertheless, he emphasizes that he was significantly more satisfied with the car compared to the practice sessions. “We changed a few things, and I felt much more comfortable. So the positive thing is the progress since this morning,” he says.
“It was, of course, pretty close, and with a better lap it might even have been enough for pole. But I am learning and improving – that’s the most important thing.”
Hungarian form preserved
The most important thing for McLaren is probably the fact that the MCL40 also seems capable of winning after the summer break. With a confident performance in Hungary and the first win of the season, they went into the four-week break, and apparently they were able to maintain the form – even if it was not as dominant as at the Hungaroring.
“At the moment, I would say we are picking up exactly where we left off,” praises team principal Andrea Stella. “The car was competitive in Hungary, and it was already extremely close with Ferrari and Mercedes there as well.”
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| Grand Prix | Norris (SQ) | Piastri (SQ) | Norris (S) | Piastri (S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| China | 3. | 5. (+0,083) | 4. | 5. (+2,4) |
| Miami | 1. | 3. (+0,239) | 1. | 2. (+3,8) |
| Canada | 3. | 4. (+0,019) | 2. | 4. (+8,5) |
| Great Britain | 6. | 7. (+0,032) | 3. | 7. (+7,8) |
| Netherlands | 2. | 4. (+0,058) |
“In a way, it’s good that we are continuing exactly at this point, because it shows that McLaren is present and competitive – which is also thanks to the upgrades we brought after Hungary,” says the Italian on Sky.
In Hungary, McLaren made major changes to its car. The team also has upgrades at the start in Zandvoort, but they are not as extensive as those before the break. The upgrades include a new rear wing, a new engine cover, and new rear brake cooling.
Upgrades show effect
The first conclusion is positive: “Fortunately, the new parts make the car faster,” emphasizes Stella. And the handling also seems to fit: “I am quite satisfied with how the car behaves,” says Norris. “It does pretty much everything you want here to get the pace out of the car.”
“So there is a lot of positive. Hopefully, it continues like this for the rest of the weekend,” says the Brit. “Yes, there are a few things I can work on – things we might still be able to squeeze out of the car for tomorrow’s qualifying. But we started the weekend strong, so I am satisfied.”
For the sprint, the world champion sees chances of winning against George Russell. In general, McLaren expects a close fight with Mercedes and Ferrari. “It will mainly depend on closing these last small details and gaps and seeing what we can achieve,” says Piastri.
Because McLaren is also aware that the competition has not been sleeping over the summer. “Ferrari, for example, has a completely new floor here, and our competitors have made improvements here and there,” says Stella. “It’s halftime in the season. It will be very interesting – not just this weekend, but in the entire second half of the season.”
“As far as race pace is concerned, we saw this morning that Ferrari looked very strong,” the team principal still has Scuderia on the radar for Zandvoort. “In practice, it’s of course hard to say how much fuel the competition had on board during the long runs, but Ferrari looked competitive, as did Mercedes – basically a reflection of what we saw in qualifying.”
Read more Zandvoort Friday in the analysis: Sprint pole for George Russell