Lando Norris told McLaren “This is exactly the car I don’t want”, leading to Mexico GP win

Norris was uncomfortable with his McLaren MCL39, until a Singapore GP debrief helped put him on the right track

Lando Norris has attributed his Mexico Grand Prix victory to a Singapore briefing regarding McLaren’s Formula 1 car.

Norris comprehensively dominated the Mexican weekend, taking pole position with a 0.262s margin on second-placed Charles Leclerc while team-mate Oscar Piastri was six tenths off, before winning the race with a 30-second gap to Leclerc.

This was statistically the most dominant F1 victory since Max Verstappen led Norris by 34 seconds under the chequered flag at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Norris hasn’t always felt comfortable with McLaren’s 2025 challenger, as he sometimes struggled to push the MC39 to the limit, especially in qualifying; he felt that he couldn’t drive the car with his natural driving style, due to his feel with the front axis.

“It's just, I feel better with the car today,” Norris told Sky Sports F1 after his Mexico victory. “Everything's about how I feel with the car. Last year, I felt very good with the car, I could perform better. This year I've struggled to get to grips with it.

“It's been incredibly quick, but it's clearly still difficult to drive. But when you get in that sweet spot, you can make it work, and it's still something that over the last few weekends I've struggled with, even in Singapore [where he qualified fifth and finished third].

“I mean, we had our debrief and we sat down for half an hour, and like: ‘Guys, this is exactly the car I don't want. This is the reason why we can't win more races, why we're not gonna win in the future, is if we keep having a car that doesn't give me what I need’. This weekend, I just had a little bit more what I need, and I can perform how I did this weekend. It's as simple as that.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Norris’ victory ended a five-round winless streak, allowing him to retake the championship lead from Piastri for the first time since April’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Piastri is just one point off however, and Verstappen remains a credible title threat with a 36-point deficit – Norris had been 88 points ahead of the Dutchman coming into the summer break.

Being told that he never doubted himself, the 25-year-old Briton set the record straight: “At times at the beginning of the year, I certainly did. Because I never want to blame my car, and certainly when the car was winning and Oscar was winning, the last thing I ever could do is use the excuse that my car is not good enough. But I wasn't getting up to grips and wasn't finding a way to make it work, and I'm finding a better way to make it work now. It's as simple as that.

“One race performing well I don't think means anything. Two, three, four in a row, does.

“I think the last few months have been good. Max has still caught me. I've had one good weekend now, but Max has still caught over the last few months, and I still got to keep my head down.”