Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in

Lando Norris reveals McLaren experiments in Spanish GP practice

Lando Norris finished first and fourth fastest in Spanish Grand Prix practice on Friday, including setting the exact same time as Max Verstappen.

Lando Norris has revealed how McLaren experimented with the set-up of its F1 car on a dominant day for the team in Spanish Grand Prix practice. Norris topped FP1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, besting Max Verstappen by 0.367s, but then fell to fourth place in FP2, setting the exact same time as Verstappen.  Team-mate Oscar Piastri topped FP2, 0.310s faster than Norris as it appeared the new FIA technical directive had no serious impact the McLaren MCL39.  Reflecting on the day's running, Norris revealed that as McLaren had arrived with its typically strong baseline set-up, the freedom to experiment with the set-up was afforded to the team.  "I felt better in FP1 than in FP2, and we were trying things, and will keep trying to improve," he said. "It is tiny things, and something we always do very well is turning up with a good baseline, but then find it difficult to improve from that point on, which is a good thing.  "But it just allows us to try some different directions, to try different things and to get a bit of a feel." Norris goes into the Barcelona weekend three points behind Piastri in the drivers' standings following on from his victory in Monaco last time out. 

Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.

Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar

A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..

F1 calendar 2026
Race Date
aut Austrian GP 28 Jun 2026
gbr British GP 05 Jul 2026
bel Belgian GP 19 Jul 2026
hun Hungarian GP 26 Jul 2026
nld Dutch GP 23 Aug 2026
ita Italian GP 06 Sep 2026
Full calendar
x
LATEST Fernando Alonso reveals Adrian Newey conversations to turn Aston Martin around