2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[Gillian]

Not gonna lie, I thought this would have been another Lando Norris special, i.e, lose a race from P1 because of a bad start.

But the pace has been phenomenal on the second half. Again.
Doesn't redeem the start in my opinion, he has to fix that at some point because it almost cost him two wins between Budapest and here.

If you watch the second start on his driver feed, you can hear the engine revs start to drop as soon the red lights start counting. You could clearly hear him try to keep the revs up and they kept dropping. I knew his start was toast with the third red light went on. Losing only 1 place was actually not that bad, all considering.

Totally agree and its really hard to fault any driver considering the current software driven cars.

I'v been very critical of Norris but he is doing very well. As difficult as it is right now to judge driver performance, I would probably put Norris above both mercedes and ferrari drivers. The car seems relatively good, Norris on form, long season still to go... I'd say a second WDC might be possible!

[SilviuAgo]

Just as info, McLaren is taking part in a Pirelli tyre test at Mugello alongside Red Bull and Audi.
Oscar was on track yesterday, and Lando will be on track today!

[Balalu]

Just as info, McLaren is taking part in a Pirelli tyre test at Mugello alongside Red Bull and Audi.
Oscar was on track yesterday, and Lando will be on track today!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFJuxXEAA ... me=900x900

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFNV5XYAA ... name=large

Do they use current cars for such tests?

[SilviuAgo]

Just as info, McLaren is taking part in a Pirelli tyre test at Mugello alongside Red Bull and Audi.
Oscar was on track yesterday, and Lando will be on track today!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFJuxXEAA ... me=900x900

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFNV5XYAA ... name=large

Do they use current cars for such tests?

Yes, all three teams used 2026 cars for this test.
Liam Lawson carried out Red Bull duties at the Pirelli, with Oscar in the McLaren MCL40.
Lawson did a total of 116 laps, Piastri 93 laps. With each running different programs on a variety of compounds between C1 and C3, Lawson set a best time of 1:22.297, with Piastri on a 1:21.358.

Today is Lando's turn:





Do you smell data gathering here?

[mwillems]

Another happy sunday thanks to our development team, great recovery from the start of the season!

One thing puzzles me atm, Piastri's gap to Lando is very small (Norris ahead by 0.078s) at Quali but comes the race and he seems completely lost, without pace.

This Mclaren isn't as kind on tyres, which mitigated a flaw of his.

https://racingnews365.com/mclaren-offer ... astri-woes

Confirmation, if it were needed, of Oscar's struggles with how he can manage the tyres and extract grip.

[Macklaren]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFNV5XYAA ... name=large

can we tell if that is the regular or the Maccarena rear wing?

[Nicktendo86]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFNV5XYAA ... name=large

can we tell if that is the regular or the Maccarena rear wing?

Hard to tell but looks like Macarena going by the second Oscar pic

Or maybe not I really can’t tell

[SilviuAgo]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFNV5XYAA ... name=large

can we tell if that is the regular or the Maccarena rear wing?

Based on my info it was "standard" RW.
For eg, you can see Macarena wing has different opening on extremities, vs standard one, seen also in Oscar image.



And a short update on testing days, seen also on x.com McLaren News account:

• Oscar on day 1 did a best time of 1'21"358 doing 93 laps and testing all compounds.

• Lando on day 2 did a best tine if 1'21"899 doing 115 laps and testing the hard tyre.

The programme combined low- and high-fuel running with continuous push laps to support Pirelli’s data collection.

Oscar faced an electric issue on the morning running. Despite that the team had a very productive afternoon, testing three different 2027 Pirelli compounds and finishing the day with three high-fuel long runs. Lando’s morning consisted of several shorter runs, with select compounds used again during the afternoon’s long runs.

[crapu7]

Looking at Monza next, I cannot see a way that this MCL40 will be competitive, whether they bring the rotisserie wing or not. Their low gearing and short-wheelbase car will bleed lap time in the heavy braking zones and on the straights, which make up most of the circuit. I hope I'm wrong, but there’s very little chance we’ll even sniff a podium next weekend.

Does anybody know what their next Baku update will focus on?

[FittingMechanics]

Looking at Monza next, I cannot see a way that this MCL40 will be competitive, whether they bring the rotisserie wing or not. Their low gearing and short-wheelbase car will bleed lap time in the heavy braking zones and on the straights, which make up most of the circuit. I hope I'm wrong, but there’s very little chance we’ll even sniff a podium next weekend.

Does anybody know what their next Baku update will focus on?

Their low gearing is not that low - these cars won't run at the limiter because they will charge their batteries. The effect is overblown.

I don't know what the pace will be, if the car is draggy it may not be great but Monza is not a typical track. Would be great to have someone else beat Mercedes if McLaren is not able to.

[_cerber1]

According to Lando and the telemetry, our car behaves very well in the high-speed corners, of which there are quite a lot at Monza, the question is how the car will behave on the straights and what will happen with the energy.

[WardenOfTheNorth]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQrFNV5XYAA ... name=large

can we tell if that is the regular or the Maccarena rear wing?

Based on my info it was "standard" RW.
For eg, you can see Macarena wing has different opening on extremities, vs standard one, seen also in Oscar image.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOARTGrWAAA ... =4096x4096

And a short update on testing days, seen also on x.com McLaren News account:

• Oscar on day 1 did a best time of 1'21"358 doing 93 laps and testing all compounds.

• Lando on day 2 did a best tine if 1'21"899 doing 115 laps and testing the hard tyre.

The programme combined low- and high-fuel running with continuous push laps to support Pirelli’s data collection.

Oscar faced an electric issue on the morning running. Despite that the team had a very productive afternoon, testing three different 2027 Pirelli compounds and finishing the day with three high-fuel long runs. Lando’s morning consisted of several shorter runs, with select compounds used again during the afternoon’s long runs.

Must have been, they're not allowed to test new parts on the tyre test days.

[WardenOfTheNorth]

For all the amazing work Zak has done bringing back the team from the dead, filling the car with sponsors, delivering 3 titles and most importantly, instilling a wonderful culture of papaya rules......bro really really needs to reconsider who he hangs out with

What do you mean ?

I suspect president trump, as if team bosses having to play the game with politicians is a new thing.

I mean, he IS pretty much papaya coloured.....

Anyway. Let's not get dragged into politics.

Some of us may not like who Zak hangs out with, but that shouldn't reflect on the hard work the staff at Woking have done to produce another fantastic car.

[Darth-Piekus]

What's the team strategy regarding these huge straights in Monza? Is there a way to mitigate and lose as less time as possible while gain as much time as possible in the few turns Monza has?

[Def]

LANDO NORRIS EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH McLAREN MASTERCARD FORMULA 1 TEAM
https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula- ... =2026-news