McLaren drivers chasing consistency amid balance woes in Mexico

Lando Norris offered a measured but clear assessment after the opening day of running at the Mexico City Grand Prix, saying McLaren still has work to do to get its car feeling right around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

The Briton ended Friday’s second practice session in fourth place, just two tenths off Max Verstappen’s pace, but admitted the MCL39 wasn’t behaving consistently from corner to corner, at least in qualifying trim.

That assessment was also shared by his teammate, championship leader Oscar Piastri, although the Aussie believed that McLaren had made progress on the issues that impacted team papaya’s disappointing weekend in Austin.

An Off-Balance MCL39

After sitting out FP1 to make way for home favourite and McLaren IndyCar star Pato O’Ward, Norris quickly found his rhythm once he took over in FP2. His early pace looked promising, yet the Briton felt the car’s balance remained unpredictable over a single lap.

“I think we’re in a reasonable place, for sure. I feel like I got up to speed very quickly, actually, I was quite surprised,” he said.

“My first lap was pretty good, and the second lap was a good step. So, yes, I felt like I found the limit quickly, but that is just holding us back a bit.

Not that it was a bad day, but normally we’re very good on a Friday, and then everyone catches up on Saturday. We’re already a little bit behind, so we definitely have some work to do tonight.

“The balance of the car is just a bit all over the place, the same as the last few weeks, just single lap stuff. We’re struggling at the moment, so yes, we’re working hard. We’re trying everything we can, so we’ll see what we can do and see what we can find.”

Norris’s comments reflected a calm focus rather than concern – an acknowledgment that McLaren’s car still requires fine-tuning to revive its full potential.

Piastri Keeping Calm amid Trial and Error

Piastri had a busier day behind the wheel, experimenting with setup changes and tyre compounds. The Australian ended FP2 a lowly P12, over eight-tenths off Verstappen, but said his run plan explained the gap.

“It was OK,” he said. “The lap on the softs on low fuel was pretty average, so I’m not surprised with the lap time.

“Tried a lot of things, we’ll go through and have a look at what worked, what didn’t, but overall I felt reasonable. We’ll see what we can tune up for tomorrow, and try to make things just a bit more consistent is the biggest thing.”

Piastri added that the team had made progress on some of the issues that cropped up at last weekend’s US Grand Prix.

“There were a few things we identified from Austin. Obviously, it was a pretty messy weekend as well,” he said.

“Plenty of things that we found, all small things, but when you put them all together, they add up. I think we’ve got a good handle on last week.

“I think so. It’s going to be tight, like always, but I think we have a good car underneath us.”

With the team poring over data overnight, Saturday’s sessions will reveal whether McLaren can smooth out its “all over the place” balance and turn solid groundwork into another competitive weekend.

Read also: McLaren defends development freeze amid Red Bull’s push

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