Norris admits McLaren are months off winning pace

Lando Norris says McLaren have already accepted they are not in a position to win races right now, with the reigning world champion describing the team as “like two, three months behind” its rivals in development ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

That gap has changed what counts as success for McLaren in the short term. Norris said he came to terms early in the season with the idea that victories are out of reach for now. “I would love to win more races, and it’s the best feeling in the world, but I think I accepted pretty early on in the season that for the time being we’re not going to win races,” he said. In that context, his third place in Barcelona felt very different. “P3 from last weekend was a victory for us.”

Norris made clear that McLaren’s route back to the front will not come from a single breakthrough part. Asked if one effective upgrade could be enough to put the team back on top, he said: “No. One good upgrade, no. We need three, four, five.” He added: “We’re like two, three months behind, that’s not one upgrade. I don’t think we’re going to be quickest any time soon.”

Austria underlines that point. McLaren has brought its experimental version of the so-called Macarena rear wing to the Red Bull Ring, but only as a test item for Friday running on Norris’ car rather than something ready to race. Norris said the team was checking that it “really works” before introducing it properly at a later round.

Oscar Piastri, speaking in the official pre-weekend press conference, confirmed the same limitation. “No, we’re not going to race it. I believe it’s on Lando’s car tomorrow. It’s intended to test. At the moment it’s not ready to race,” the McLaren driver said.

The standings show how sharply the picture has changed after seven rounds. McLaren, the reigning champions, are third in the teams’ championship on 141 points, 121 behind Mercedes on 262. Norris is fifth in the drivers’ championship, 83 points behind leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

That leaves McLaren chasing a longer recovery rather than expecting an immediate turnaround. Norris said catching up over the next “three, four, five months” will require “a huge effort” from the team. Piastri put the current reality even more bluntly, saying McLaren are still dependent on rivals getting it wrong or conditions falling their way, rather than being able “to take the initiative and dictate the pace.”