Lando Norris has laid bare a critical and long-standing flaw in McLaren’s Formula 1 car, blaming the team’s struggles at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on a front-end limitation that has haunted him since his rookie season in 2019. The revelation follows McLaren’s lackluster performance on the neon-lit streets of Vegas, where the team suffered its worst result since emerging as a race-winning contender this season.
“A Worrying Weakness”: Norris Speaks Out
Finishing a distant sixth, with teammate Oscar Piastri in seventh, Norris was left disheartened by McLaren’s inability to adapt to low-grip conditions. The disappointing result allowed Ferrari to close the gap in the Constructors’ Championship to just 24 points, intensifying the battle for second place as the season approaches its finale.
“For us, of course it matters,” Norris admitted, referring to the tightening points gap. “But what worries me more is how bad our car was today. Mercedes being strong, how poor we’ve been all weekend — that’s what concerns me.”
The British driver didn’t mince words about McLaren’s recurring issues, particularly its susceptibility to front graining, which he says has been a problem for six years. “It’s been a complaint of mine since 2019, and we’ve still not been able to iron it out,” he explained. “Even when people think we’ve had the best car, we haven’t. We’ve just managed to get everything out of it on those weekends.”
A Persistent Flaw Resurfaces
The Las Vegas Strip Circuit’s low-grip surface proved unforgiving for McLaren, exposing a front-end restriction that exacerbates tire graining — a problem Norris says the team has faced repeatedly. “We’ve always been one of the worst teams for front graining,” he revealed. “Today, the problems were way too severe to manage.”
The driver pointed to past races, like Mexico and Montreal, as examples of this persistent weakness. “In Montreal, we were killing the fronts. It was a similar case — low grip, street circuit vibe. Mercedes, easily the quickest, should’ve won. We were struggling, just like this weekend.”
Las Vegas Fallout: McLaren’s Worst Weekend
McLaren’s pace issues in Las Vegas allowed Ferrari to capitalize, narrowing the points lead in the Constructors’ battle. Despite this, Norris managed to salvage a fastest lap point in the dying moments of the race, but the British driver was far from satisfied.
“If I tried to push harder, I’d probably have ended up in a wall somewhere,” he confessed. “We just couldn’t make the car work in these conditions.”
Hopes for Qatar: A Turnaround on the Horizon?
While Norris sounded the alarm over McLaren’s persistent issues, he struck a cautiously optimistic tone for the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix. The Lusail International Circuit’s high-speed layout is expected to suit the McLaren MCL38 better, though Norris warned that Red Bull remains the team to beat.
“Red Bull is still, by a mile, the best car in high-speed corners,” Norris said. “I’m not expecting us to be the favorites, but I believe we have a car that can fight a lot more than we did this weekend.”
The Bigger Picture
McLaren’s struggles in Las Vegas serve as a stark reminder that its recent resurgence is far from a finished product. The front-end limitation, which has plagued the team for years, threatens to undermine its progress as it battles Ferrari and Mercedes for supremacy behind Red Bull.
With just two races left, McLaren must regroup quickly to fend off Ferrari and secure its hard-earned position in the Constructors’ Championship. But as Norris has made clear, the fight is as much about fixing long-standing weaknesses as it is about winning races.
