McLaren plan to bring more upgrades to their car in the remaining rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 season after struggling to compete at the front in recent races. Since Lando Norris missed out on victory in Madrid last month, McLaren have failed to finish on the podium in the last four races, despite bringing new parts to the car in that period.
After qualifying eighth at last weekend's United States Grand Prix, Norris described the MCL40 as "easily the hardest car I've ever driven in my life". He ran second late in the race using an alternative one-stop strategy but was overtaken by Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, dropping to fifth, while Oscar Piastri finished seventh.
Team principal Andrea Stella said there will be more upgrades, though most come in Brazil and Vegas rather than Mexico City. "Hopefully this will help us to be consistently in the fight for podiums," he said. McLaren confirmed that the car will remain essentially unchanged for Mexico City beyond a small selection of parts, with further developments in the pipeline from the race in Sao Paulo.
Norris has claimed three pole positions this year, but his biggest margin to second place in those qualifying sessions was just 0.102s. He says the slow-speed corners have been a key area for improvement, adding: "Qualifyings we have struggled."
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing