McLaren tests upgrades at Zandvoort in changing conditions
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 21, 2026
McLaren confidence builds
Lando Norris said McLaren’s recent step forward has raised his belief that the team can battle Mercedes and Ferrari in the second half of the 2026 season. He pointed to the new floor and other upgrades McLaren introduced in Budapest, saying they delivered a clear performance gain and helped turn his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix into a major confidence boost for him and the team. That win stood out for Norris as the clearest sign of progress in McLaren’s recent run.
Norris framed the result as proof that the package is moving in the right direction, but he also stressed that one strong weekend does not answer every question. He said McLaren still needs more data to know whether the pace advantage can carry across different tracks, surfaces, corner types and conditions. He wants to see the car perform away from the kind of setup that suited Hungary before treating the speed as a broad trend. For now, the Hungarian Grand Prix remains the benchmark for the team’s latest development push, and Norris said it gave everyone a lift at a point when McLaren needed confirmation that its changes were working.
Norris stays cautious
Norris said Zandvoort offers the next real test because it shares some traits with Hungary, but the Dutch circuit brings colder weather and wind that could change the picture. He said he is waiting to see how the car performs there and still expects McLaren to be competitive at the Dutch Grand Prix. That expectation comes with a dose of caution. Norris said the car remains very difficult to drive and forces the team to adapt corner by corner and in changing conditions. He said McLaren still has work to do to make the car easier to handle, especially on street circuits where mistakes are harder to recover from and the margin for adjustment is smaller.
Even with those limits, Norris said he draws confidence from several places inside the team. He pointed first to McLaren itself, including the people around him and the leadership of Andrea Stella and Zak Brown. He also said his own recent driving form has helped. That combination, he said, is what gives him belief that the progress can hold up under pressure. The message from Norris was clear. McLaren has moved forward, but he wants proof that the gains can survive a wider range of demands before he treats the latest run as a finished product.
Zandvoort upgrades
McLaren plans to take another upgrade set to Zandvoort, centered on a new rear wing and revised rear brake ducts for the MCL40. The team said those parts complete the package first introduced in Hungary, and it wants to validate them quickly while squeezing out as much performance as possible across the weekend. That makes Zandvoort a key checkpoint in McLaren’s development program. Norris said the Dutch Grand Prix will be the next test of whether the team’s latest floor and related development steps have made the car faster across a wider range of circuits.
McLaren said it still has 12 races left in the season and is keeping its focus on continued development and consistency rather than easing off after the Hungarian victory. That approach fits the tone Norris struck throughout his comments. He praised the gain McLaren has made, but he did not present it as a finished breakthrough. Instead, he treated Zandvoort as another step in a longer process, one that will show whether the team can keep its pace when the conditions change. McLaren also has recent history on its side at the Dutch Grand Prix. It won the last two races at Zandvoort, with Oscar Piastri winning in 2025 and Norris taking the checkered flag in 2024.
