McLaren has given a positive initial assessment of its new upgrade package for the US Grand Prix despite underwhelming results in practice sessions.
McLaren ended seventh and eighth in FP2 on Friday, with Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri in the timesheets after running the newly introduced aerodynamic components.
For the first day of running on an upgraded package, this could be alarming, but McLaren chief designer Rob Marshall explained after practice that, in fact, the signs from the updated package were positive.
Marshall told Formula1.com that the team was pretty happy with the day's progress, noting that various test items worked as intended and brought a noticeable chunk of performance to the car.
He added that they probably had a slightly scrappy low fuel run in both cars during P2, which masked their true pace, despite setting a purple time in one of the sectors.
Making precise judgments after only one day remains difficult due to testing across different cars and limited track time, but collected data fully backs up what the upgrade should have delivered.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris echoed previous race weekend frustrations regarding the extreme difficulty of extracting consistent performance and handling out of this year's challenger.
Norris admitted that putting a clean lap together at the minute feels almost impossible on demand, even though clear signs of strong underlying pace exist within the chassis.
The British driver remains optimistic that minor tweaks in vehicle setup will help iron out the handling quirks ahead of the crucial qualifying and race sessions.
Read Also
Simak analisis mendalam teka-teki formasi pembalap Cadillac F1 2027 dan gestur mencurigakan sang bos tim saat bahas masa depan Valtteri Bottas.
Simak detail dokumenter terbaru F1 Academy di Disney+ jelang final musim 2025. Baca analisis mendalam dan kisah inspiratif para pembalap di sini!
Simak analisis lengkap F1 GP Amerika Serikat 2026, persiapan Ferrari, dan komentar Fred Vasseur jelang kualifikasi. Baca ulasan mendalam di sini!
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!