Lando Norris (McLaren): At a disadvantage even before the Madrid F1 race?

In Friday’s practice sessions in Madrid, Lando Norris finished sixth in FP1 and Oscar Piastri eighth. In FP2, Piastri finished seventh, whilst Norris experienced a problem with his car during the session and had to change the gearbox. Consequently, he spent hardly any time on track and was listed last with just two laps, without setting a fast lap time. A bitter start to the Spanish Grand Prix weekend for Norris and McLaren.

Norris completed just two laps at the Madring. Then his Friday was over. A double blow! Every practice session is valuable, but especially on a new circuit like the Madring – which, as Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri explained, also has all sorts of pitfalls.

Gearbox problems for Norris

So what was the matter with Norris’s car? The gearbox was jerking. The problem was spotted early in the session and the gearbox was replaced. But there wasn’t enough time for him to get back out on track.

Norris: “It was a difficult day. It was good to be able to do a few laps in the morning, during which we identified a couple of changes we needed to make to the car, but ultimately, due to a gearbox problem, we had no chance of making progress in the second free practice session.”

Lagging behind after retirement

A bitter blow for the Briton and 2025 World Champion: “When you arrive at a new circuit, track time is very important, so we’re clearly behind after the retirement in FP2.” Norris is therefore at a disadvantage even before qualifying and the race. At least he and his McLaren team can draw on the data from his team-mate Oscar Piastri when it comes to set-up. Nevertheless, even with a trouble-free FP3 (which is just getting underway as this article goes online), Norris is missing a third of the practice time.

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After Friday’s FP2 session, Norris said: “We’ll be working hard overnight to analyse the data from FP1 – both from Oscar’s car and from the teams around us – and make sure we learn as much as possible from it in FP3. Otherwise, it was good to have completed the first few laps here in Madrid. It’s an interesting circuit.”

Every lap counts at the Madrid circuit

McLaren’s Technical Director Mark Temple said of the gearbox issue: “It’s a major setback on such a technically demanding circuit as this, where every lap is crucial for gathering data.”

Overall, too, McLaren are not yet satisfied with the performance. Mark Temple added: “The car isn’t quite where we’d like it to be yet. However, we have a few clear ideas, both on the chassis side and on the drivers’ side, that we want to try out. We’ll work hard, analyse the situation and see how we can give both drivers the most competitive package possible. The absolute priority will be to give Lando as much track time as possible in FP3 so that he can make up the lost ground.”