Norris says McLaren upgrade makes car feel more straightforward, but one track is not enough

Lando Norris said after Friday practice at Interlagos that McLaren's latest upgrade seemed to make the car slightly more straightforward to drive. He cautioned that one circuit was not enough to judge its effect.

McLaren's São Paulo package includes a revised floor, a new beam wing, a reworked rear wing and a test-concept front wing, aimed at producing downforce more efficiently without excessive drag. Norris said the upgrades were intended to bring lap time and performance, not to improve handling. An ideal package would also bring a handling gain, he said, particularly given how tricky he has found the car.

Norris topped FP1 by 0.082 seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli, then finished second behind him in FP2, about a quarter of a second adrift. He called FP1 a pleasant surprise. Norris said McLaren struggled more against Mercedes in FP2, with Mercedes about two-tenths quicker per lap; he added that McLaren looked good relative to some other teams. Norris said the upgrades seemed to have delivered what the team hoped for and that McLaren would put everything together on Saturday.