Lando Norris believes the MCL40 currently does not have the same tyre management advantage as last year’s car.
A strength behind the MCL39‘s success last season was its superb tyre management, notably towards the end of races, where McLaren were able to take advantage compared to their rivals. But reigning world champion Norris does not think that has been carried over into 2026 so far.
Speaking about the topic during a press conference in Bahrain testing, Norris said: “Last year we also had just a pace advantage, so going into the race it was always, we could almost drive slower, things worked better, and then we could drive quicker.
“At the minute we’re a little bit off, so to match the race pace of some of the others, we have to push a bit more, and then we have more degradation. So not entirely, but I’m sure there are some things.”
“I know there are some things that our strengths last year that will continue to be our strengths this season,” Norris added.
“The car worked very well last year. It was difficult to understand it worked well. And it’s still just very, very early days, but it’s currently moving.
“The team are working hard on every area. That includes race pace, tyre cooling, all of those things. At the minute, we’re just kind of improving in most areas.”