McLaren’s new front wing is making the car more predictable, and Friday’s comparisons backed up the progress. But the team says the bigger handling changes must wait until next year.
McLaren brought more than a faster car to Brazil. It brought an early test of the direction it wants to take in 2027.
Lando Norris turned the weekend into victory, but his assessment afterward remained blunt: “We’re not at the level we need to be to fight for a World Championship just yet.”
There is a concrete reason for that caution. Adding speed and making the car easier to drive are related jobs, but they aren’t identical.
What actually changed
McLaren introduced new front and rear wings, a beam wing and smaller floor changes. According to its FIA submission, the front wing improves the airflow reaching the floor and bodywork, helping the parts work together.
Friday’s practice program tested that progress directly. Norris ran the new rear wing while Leonardo Fornaroli used the previous version. Both also compared old and new front wings at different settings.
The encouraging finding went beyond lap time. Andrea Stella said driver feedback and measurements indicated that the new front wing made the car more predictable and easier to drive.
Why the win doesn’t finish the job
Stella also made an important distinction: a car becoming easier to drive is still some distance from being an easy car to drive.
More components are planned for Las Vegas, designed to work with the airflow created by the new front wing. Their expected contribution is greater aerodynamic efficiency. Stella does not anticipate another major change in handling from that package; the larger improvements belong to next year’s car.
Cool conditions also favored McLaren in Brazil, according to the team. That makes the victory encouraging without proving the same performance will travel everywhere.
Norris left with 50 McLaren podiums and a place among Interlagos’ three-pole record holders. McLaren left with something valuable for its future: evidence that its new direction is working, and a clearer distinction between what it can improve now and what must change for 2027.
