Lando Norris has delivered once again a brutally honest take on McLaren’s current predicament, admitting that the reigning world champions simply do not have the pace to compete with their direct Formula 1 rivals, regardless of how spectacularly he manages to extract performance from the MCL40.
The Briton salvaged sixth place on the grid for Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix with what he described as a “pretty phenomenal” qualifying lap, but there was little celebration in his assessment afterwards.
For Norris, the occasional flash of brilliance is masking a much more uncomfortable reality: McLaren's car is difficult to drive, inconsistent and increasingly outgunned.
The competitive picture has become particularly concerning in recent rounds, with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull seemingly establishing themselves ahead of McLaren in the pecking order.
Mexico offered another painful illustration. While Norris briefly topped the Q2 timesheets and appeared capable of mounting a challenge for pole, he eventually finished only sixth in the final shootout, while team-mate Oscar Piastri suffered an even more difficult afternoon, qualifying only 13th.
A magical lap cannot disguise McLaren's deficit
Norris was satisfied with his own execution in Q3, insisting that the result owed more to his ability to extract an exceptional lap than to any underlying strength in the car.
“I don’t think anything slipped away, I think just the lap I did was pretty phenomenal in the car that we have,” he said.
“I think it shows us where Oscar is and the struggles we’ve been having, how difficult it is to put just a lap together in this car.”
The world champion admitted that even repeating his impressive Q2 performance was an unrealistic expectation, leaving him pleasantly surprised to have secured a place on the third row.
“I’m pretty happy with the P6 honestly, you never really know what you’re going to get and after I did a good lap in Q2 I knew I was screwed for Q3 because the chance of me repeating that lap is impossible,” he said.
“It’s just we’re too slow, every now and then I can put a magical lap together and everyone has a bit of hope, which is not a good thing because then you see the reality of Q3.
“It’s the same as the whole year, we’re just not quick enough, the car is too difficult to drive. Maybe one in 50 I can put together and everyone says you’ve got a good car but then it’s not true.”
Two corners away from the competition
Norris was particularly scathing when discussing where McLaren is losing ground, pointing to the opening sector as a glaring weakness that cannot simply be erased through determined driving.
“Every corner, just look at the GPS, you’ll see how bad we are in sector 1, turn 1, turn 2, turn 3, so two turns every single lap,” he explained.
“If we’re two turns off in the first three corners, it’s impossible that you think we can even be close to the rest of the lap. I think the only corner I’m good at is turn 7, that’s it.”
He also explained just how unpredictable the MCL40 has become, revealing that seemingly identical approaches can produce dramatically different results from one lap to the next.
“You just always have to keep trying, you never know when things are just going to suddenly go your way. In my Q2 lap I just had an amazing headwind in turn 12, I got in 1.5 tenths just because the car gripped,” he explained.
“The next lap I try and go the same speed in, I lose the rear, I lose a tenth, so I got a 2.5 tenths delta to my previous. It’s just too difficult, especially when I slip along more smoothly, it baffles me how we can be quick sometimes.
“It always feels like there’s a little bit of hope, which is also as much as it wasn’t a good thing, it’s a good thing at the same time that the speed can be there if things just somehow come together, but you never know when they’re going to come together.”
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Mexico City Speed Trap: Who is the fastest of them all?For Norris, Sunday's race is therefore about salvaging whatever the machinery allows rather than expecting a sudden transformation in competitive fortunes.
There is also a more personal storyline unfolding in Mexico. With Kimi Antonelli closing in on the championship, Norris faces the prospect of surrendering his world title, potentially as early as Sunday.
The Briton may still have plenty to fight for, but his candid assessment makes one thing clear: McLaren's current difficulties are leaving its reigning champion with precious little ammunition to defend his crown.
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