McLaren’s race pace is terrifying the competition—will Norris dominate again in Shanghai, or will rivals finally close the gap?
After the season’s first Grand Prix, one thing is clear: McLaren F1 looks like it’s playing in a league of its own.
Pre-season testing in Bahrain hinted at their potential, but in Melbourne, the gap between McLaren and rivals like Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari was even bigger than expected—especially in race conditions on worn intermediate tires.
Was Melbourne just a track that suited McLaren’s strengths? Will Lando Norris dominate even more in Shanghai? Or could other circuits expose some weaknesses?
A Mixed Bag: Stronger on Some Tracks, Struggling on Others
“I think it’ll be a bit of both,” Norris admitted. “There will be tracks where we’ll be even stronger and others where we’ll struggle. We were strong last year, especially in the second half of the season, but Vegas was a nightmare. Honestly, we were terrible. There are a few tracks like that where we’ve really suffered.”
“We’ve worked hard to balance the car across different track types—high-speed, low-speed, high downforce, low downforce. We’re competitive on most of them. But on low-grip circuits like Vegas, we really struggled. It exposed our front-end issues—graining, lack of rotation. We know where our weaknesses are.”
“Even in Bahrain a few weeks ago, we left feeling confident, but people hyped us up a bit too much. That was mainly because our race pace with a heavy fuel load was excellent.”
McLaren Even Stronger in Race Pace Than in Qualifying?
One thing rivals are particularly worried about? McLaren seems even more dominant over a full race than in one-lap qualifying.
“At the start in Melbourne, when it was really wet, Max was just as quick as us. But as the track dried, we got much faster, and Red Bull started to struggle,” Norris explained.
“During pre-season testing, we weren’t the fastest on low fuel. Even if we’d emptied the tank and turned the engine up to the max, I don’t think we’d have been the quickest. We know we have work to do. If we had to race in Bahrain again tomorrow, I wouldn’t be confident about winning.”
McLaren Confident for China, Will They Leave the Competition in the Dust?
Looking ahead, Norris is optimistic about the upcoming race in Shanghai.
“I’m confident that when we head to China next weekend, we’ll be very strong because we were already good there last year, and that was with a car that wasn’t great.”
“But I just hope we don’t have another disaster like Vegas. That was our worst race last season, so I really hope we’ve made progress since then.”
Championship Leader for the First Time, But Unfazed
For the first time in his F1 career, Lando Norris is leading the championship. But he’s keeping things in perspective.
“It’s cool. But it doesn’t mean anything. I haven’t won it yet, so for now, I don’t really care.”
Can McLaren keep up their dominance in Shanghai? Or will another team step up to challenge them?
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McLaren’s Shanghai Showdown: Norris Ready to Shine! McLaren’s Shanghai Showdown: Norris Ready to Shine!
