McLaren says São Paulo upgrades brought a modest step forward

McLaren says its revised MCL40 package produced a modest step in Friday practice at São Paulo: Lando Norris was fastest in FP1 and second in FP2, while Oscar Piastri finished fifth on his return to the car.

The team brought updated front and rear wings and small floor components. Norris ran the new rear wing in FP1 while reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, standing in for Piastri, used the previous version for a cross-car comparison. Norris set 1:11.717 to lead; Fornaroli was 11th.

Piastri returned for FP2, where Norris also ran the upgraded floor. Norris was second in 1:11.016, 0.253s off the fastest time; Piastri was fifth in 1:11.084, 0.321s back. McLaren said a slow puncture on Piastri’s hard set changed his long-run plan: after the qualifying simulations, he switched to softs while Norris returned to hards.

Norris called FP1 a pleasant surprise. He said McLaren found FP2 slightly more challenging compared with Mercedes, although its pace against the rest of the field looked strong. He said the first signs suggested a little more performance and lap time, and that the car felt a little more straightforward and positive. McLaren described the gains as a good step rather than a dramatic leap; Piastri said there was still work to do to catch the cars ahead.

McLaren said it would study Friday’s data before confirming the setup for the rest of the weekend. Norris expected very wet conditions for Saturday’s qualifying.