Lando Norris could only cling to the final podium place in Saturday’s Dutch Grand Prix Sprint, admitting McLaren simply did not have the pace to match its Mercedes and Ferrari rivals at Zandvoort.
The result was a reality check for the reigning world champion after McLaren’s dominant display at last month’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Norris had started from the front row after missing George Russell’s pole by just 0.041 seconds, but the apparent competitiveness of the MCL40 evaporated as the 24-lap Sprint unfolded.
McLaren loses ground as Sprint wears on
Norris made a strong getaway and initially remained tucked behind Russell, but his challenge gradually faded. By the second half of the race, Leclerc was closing rapidly, with Norris reporting that he had “no rear” as the Ferrari began to exploit the McLaren’s weakness.
The inevitable came on lap 18, when Leclerc swept down the inside at Turn 1 to take second. Norris was then forced to concentrate on keeping Kimi Antonelli behind him, eventually securing third by just 0.4 seconds.
Reflecting on the race, Norris made little attempt to disguise McLaren’s shortcomings.
“Not a bad result. Not the best – would’ve been nice to be a little bit faster today but Charles was just too quick. I don’t think it was the tyres, we just lacked pace. We’re not quick enough and we have some work to do.
“We’re very good in high speed, just the car’s not performing to the level it needs to in the slow-speed corners. There’s not a lot we can do.
"I think we’re optimising a lot of things. It’s still a good result.”
Norris demands more from McLaren
Despite the obvious frustration, Norris remained encouraged by the progress McLaren has made, even if the latest upgrade package has yet to produce the step forward the team would have wanted at Zandvoort.
“I think we still have to be happy with the progress we’ve been making but we need more,” he said.
“We’ll see what we can do, we’ll work hard. The team are working hard already so hopefully we can do a better job.”
On the other side of the McLaren garage, Oscar Piastri endured an even tougher Sprint, dropping from fourth to fifth on the opening lap after getting squeezed behind Leclerc.
The Australian also conceded that McLaren’s pace was not where it needed to be.
“The start was a bit average,” he admitted. “Charles went a lot more to the inside than I thought he was going to. I just got pinched in behind him. But the pace wasn’t great either for both cars, it looked like, so some work to do.”
With qualifying still to come, McLaren has a limited window to unlock more performance. The Sprint may have exposed a weakness, but the team still has time to find a remedy before Sunday’s main event.
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