Norris hails ‘good step forward’ by McLaren’s updated MCL39

Lando Norris believes McLaren has taken a meaningful stride forward in Austria, after emerging as the fastest driver on Friday at the Red Bull Ring.

The Briton led a McLaren one-two in the day’s second practice session, following several performance-focused upgrades to the MCL39.

The 25-year-old, who handed over his car to development driver Alex Dunne in the opening session, finally had his first chance in FP2 to evaluate the updated package. McLaren has introduced several aerodynamic revisions to the car’s front and rear sections, alongside a new front suspension design aimed at refining airflow and bolstering overall downforce.

Despite sitting out the opening hour of running, Norris showed no signs of rust and immediately found confidence in the upgraded McLaren around the compact Austrian circuit.

“I didn’t mind sitting on the pit wall. I actually felt a lot more relaxed there than in the car, especially here,” Norris said after Friday’s action..

“I’ve always enjoyed this track. The car felt good right from the start. Alex gave solid feedback this morning after FP1 and was on pace straight away, which was encouraging to see.”

Positive Signs -- But Caution Ahead of Qualifying

While McLaren’s revised package appeared promising, Norris hoped that there was more to extract from team papaya’s machine in the hills of Spielberg.

“They definitely moved the car in the right direction for FP2. Now we just need to figure out if we want more of that tomorrow, less, or somewhere in between,” he explained. “So, it’s a good step forward, but hopefully there’s still a bit more to come.”

However, the Briton was wary of reading too much into the gap at the top, expecting Red Bull and others to close the margin by qualifying.

“We’ve showed a bit more pace than some of the others, so I certainly think they’re going to catch up,” he admitted. “Max is not far behind and they normally improve a lot into Saturday.

“So I expect a good day tomorrow and I’m sure we’ll improve on some things, but it’s not as easy as maybe it looked today.

“I think it’s still going to be tight tomorrow — it always is. There’s no reason for it not to be. But we’ll work hard to make it as big of a gap as possible.”

Piastri Praises Car Balance and Pace

Oscar Piastri, who completed both practice sessions, echoed Norris’ optimism. The Australian finished second in FP2, closely shadowing his team-mate and continuing his strong form.

“Looked pretty good — Max [Verstappen] is still close, so I think he’ll definitely be a threat this weekend, but the car’s feeling good. I think the pace is quite good, so positive first day,” said Piastri.

While not using the same specification introduced in Canada, Piastri confirmed both cars were running with McLaren’s full complement of performance upgrades in Austria.

“There’s some other bits and pieces. I’m not using the bits that came in [at] Canada because they’re not an upgrade — they’re just different,” he clarified.

“So all the parts that we think will make the car faster are on both cars.”

McLaren appears well-poised to mount a serious challenge – but both drivers remain fully aware of the narrow margins that have defined this season.

Read also:

• Norris: ‘Mistakes have put me behind Piastri’

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