Norris delivers damning verdict on latest McLaren upgrade

Lando Norris has dismissed McLaren's latest update package as "not really much better" than before after a difficult start to his Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.

The 24-year-old, who sat out FP1 in lieu of IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward, is running a new floor on his MCL38 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, whereas Oscar Piastri is not.

Despite that, the Australian out-performed his team-mate during FP2, finishing second-quickest, with Norris down in fifth.

To the British driver, there was little improvement from the new floor, even if there were positive benefits to be had from splitting the specifications for a direct analysis.

His initial appraisal of the latest development introduced by McLaren suggests a departure from the established pattern from across the season, whereby the papaya team has ported upgrades more successfully and consistently than its F1 rivals.

"[It's] good for back to back [comparisons], but it's not really much better," the three-time grand prix winner explained.

"Oscar was quick today. I think I'm a bit off, so I've got some work to do, but we'll see."

Playing catch up

Unsurprisingly, Norris was unhappy with his performance in the 90-minute FP2 session, which was extended to allow Pirelli to test potential 2025 tyre compounds.

Now 57 points behind drivers' championship leader Max Verstappen, the weekend in Mexico - like the rest of the rounds to come - is critical to the McLaren racer's season.

However, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a formidable challenge and Norris argued he was "playing a little bit of catch up" and does not yet believe he has a "good feeling" at the track.

When asked how his session went, he replied: "Not great. [A] lack of laps, compared to most others.

"Playing a little bit of catch up and just not a great feeling. It's hard to get a good feeling around this circuit, because it's very low grip.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, but yeah, not the most comfortable, so a bit of work to do."