Formula 1 continues to show Mercedes’ strength at the 2026 Chinese GP, but McLaren believes it has taken an important step in Shanghai. Lando Norris acknowledged the team’s evolution in the power unit area, although he admitted that the car still loses performance to its German rival on the straights.
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The defending champion will start only in sixth position, just behind teammate Oscar Piastri and about half a second off the pole position achieved by Kimi Antonelli. Even so, Norris left qualifying with the feeling that there has been progress compared to what McLaren had been facing in the early activities of the season.
According to the Briton, part of the improvement is also explained by the characteristics of the Chinese circuit. For him, Shanghai is a simpler track compared to other layouts, which helps reduce some of the problems the team had been finding in the car.
“There are some things we certainly did better. It’s also a much simpler track, so that eliminates half the problems immediately,” Norris stated. Still, the driver highlighted that McLaren continues to lose important time at a decisive point of the lap.
“We continue to lose in the final part of the laps, about a tenth and a half just on the back straight. We don’t know why. There are still things we need to understand and figure out,” he added.
Despite the disadvantage, Norris emphasized that the team is working to reduce the gap to Mercedes. The driver acknowledged that, in this type of scenario, overcoming the rival is still a difficult task, but believes that McLaren is on the right track to at least get closer.
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“We have certainly taken a step forward, and the team is doing everything it can to improve. But for some time it has been very difficult to be ahead of a Mercedes in this type of situation. We are working hard to at least match them,” he said.
Norris’s statements were accompanied by a broader reflection from team principal Andrea Stella on the behavior of the cars under Formula 1’s new technical regulations. After qualifying, the executive pointed out an aspect he described as strange and even counterintuitive in the current rules.
Stella explained that, in certain situations, a mistake during the lap can end up bringing an unexpected benefit in energy management. This happens because, by delaying acceleration due to a mistake, the driver can save energy and then use that extra charge further down the straight, improving performance in a sector of the track.
In the McLaren principal’s view, this dynamic raises a deeper discussion about the type of racing Formula 1 wants to offer. For him, the category needs to reflect on whether it wants to remain faithful to the sport’s traditional DNA or accept that counterintuitive situations become part of the competitive landscape.
Stella assessed that this is not just a technical debate, but also a philosophical one. In the Italian’s opinion, the discussion needs to involve not only the entities that govern Formula 1, but also the fans and, especially, the drivers, who are the first to feel the effects of these changes on the track.
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