Lando Norris offered an analysis of McLaren to understand why the team’s car showed such divergent performance between the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, held last Sunday (the 19th), and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The driver admitted he was surprised that Mercedes hadn’t been even more dominant in the Belgian event of the Formula 1 season.
At Spa, Norris produced one of McLaren’s standout performances of the year. He had to start 13th after receiving a 10-spot grid drop for changing an engine component outside the allowed allocation, yet the Briton displayed strong race pace, crossed the line in seventh, and set the fastest lap of the race. This result stood in stark contrast to Silverstone, where the Woking squad endured a tougher time.
For Norris, the difference is hard to explain, given that the two circuits share similar characteristics: “If we went back to Silverstone now, we would still be incredibly slow and would be struggling with the car. So we need to understand why this track favored us so much more.”
The 2025 champion also weighed in on Mercedes, noting that the German manufacturer has tended to be stronger in qualifying than in race pace over the course of the season: “They have always made a bigger step in qualifying compared with the race. There have been some races where they were completely dominant, but I wouldn’t say that about the last three, four, or five weeks.”
According to him, the frontrunners have closed the gap recently, and Spa also benefited from traits in which Mercedes typically holds an advantage. “Everybody seems to have closed in a little, and this track is also one where a lot depends on the straight-line speed and the straight-mode, which is where they have a clear edge over us. But yes, perhaps I’m a touch surprised they weren’t much stronger.”
Nevertheless, Norris acknowledged that Mercedes still delivered a good result by winning the race, but emphasized that the closeness between the teams is a positive sign for McLaren: “They still won the race, so it isn’t as if they had a terrible weekend, but we were certainly closer to them than we expected, and that’s a good sign. Yet we don’t know why.”
