Norris starts again from number 1 With the conquest of the 2025 world title, Lando Norris has fulfilled his life’s dream. Now this dream must be defended, and the fight began with the Montmeló shakedown, which saw drivers and teams grappling with the knowledge of the revolutionary 2026 car. In the five days in Catalonia, McLaren worked solidly on the MCL40, a car which also impressed on a technical level. The Woking team was able to take advantage of the time on track, accumulating 291 laps thanks to the alternation between Norris and Oscar Piastri. This is a significant mileage: although it is not comparable to the distances covered by Mercedes and Ferrari, it allowed the reigning champions to immediately build a good technical base with a view to the Bahrain test and above all from a championship perspective. Norris’s words For Norris they have been intense and very important days: “I was very pleased to be back behind the wheel. I am grateful to the whole team for their hard work and support. It is a pleasure to drive another McLaren this year, racing with the number 1 for the first time was a special moment for all of us.” “We have identified opportunities and areas for improvement, we are excited to see what we can do in Woking as we prepare for Bahrain. We have many more things to learn this week in the simulator, together with our simulation and development drivers, and I can’t wait to get to work. These cars definitely require a new way of thinking and driving – the more time we spend on this, the better prepared we will be for the start of the season,” he added. “Now it’s time to take a few days off before returning to work early next week, before we get behind the wheel again in Bahrain. I can’t wait to get going again.”
