Norris tops Sao Paulo practice as McLaren upgrades deliver 'pleasant surprise'

Lando Norris topped the opening practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Friday, beating Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 0.082 seconds, and gave a measured but positive verdict on McLaren’s latest upgrade package for the MCL40.

“Certainly FP1 was a little bit of a surprise, a pleasant surprise,” Norris said. He acknowledged a slight step back in FP2 — roughly two tenths adrift of Mercedes on every lap — but added that relative to the wider field McLaren appeared competitive, and that the new components had broadly delivered what the team had hoped for.

The upgrades have been introduced in phases across the current triple-header. A new front-suspension geometry and revised diffuser furniture debuted at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, and further aerodynamic work has now been added in São Paulo. The headline piece is a redesigned front wing in which all three planes have been reprofiled and the entire assembly mounts to the nose via the middle plane rather than the front. Revisions to the rear wing, the beam at its base, and the floor complete the package.

All of the updates were signed off at the start of September before McLaren’s design team shifted its focus fully to the 2027 car project. The collective aim is to make the MCL40 slightly more predictable under braking and to improve driveability without sacrificing outright performance.

That driveability deficit has been a recurring theme throughout what has become one of the most turbulent world championship defences in recent memory. Feedback from both Norris and Oscar Piastri has centred on how much effort the MCL40 demands to extract a fast lap — a characteristic that punishes tyre consistency and has contributed to an uneven run of results. In Mexico, Norris felt the car had the pace to win on Sunday but could only qualify sixth on Saturday.

The contrasting styles of the two drivers have amplified the problem. Team principal Andrea Stella has noted that Piastri thrives on building gradually through a race weekend, a process that requires the kind of consistency the MCL40 has struggled to provide. Norris is more adaptable, yet even he has found it difficult to string a complete weekend together.

With qualifying on Saturday, Norris indicated the full upgrade package would be assembled on the car for the first time, making the session a more meaningful test of whether the revisions can translate practice pace into grid position.