McLaren gives initial verdict on latest F1 upgrade package after US GP debut

McLaren has given a positive initial assessment of its new upgrade package for the US Grand Prix despite underwhelming results in practice.

McLaren ended seventh and eighth in FP2 on Friday, with Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri.

For the first day of running on an upgraded package, this could be alarming, but McLaren chief designer Rob Marshall explained after practice that, in fact, the signs from the updated package were positive.

“I think we were pretty happy with the day,” Marshall told Formula1.com.

“We had various test items to try, they seemed to work and bring us a bit of performance. 

“I think we probably had a slightly scrappy low fuel run in both cars in P2, so didn’t show our true pace; had a purple in one of the sectors – we were looking quick.”

He added that it’s nonetheless difficult to make precise judgements on the upgrade after only one day: “It’s always very difficult to tell. We’re testing across cars, you’ve got limited time – it’s not really a very controlled test. 

“But from the data we collect, it backs up what the upgrade should’ve been showing. You have to trust the numbers.”

Despite Marshall’s enthusiasm about the update, Lando Norris had similar comments to previous races where he complained about the difficulty of getting consistent performance out of this year’s McLaren.

“Just difficult,” Norris told Formula1.com. “Impossible to put a lap together at the minute.

“There are signs of good pace at the minute, but just to go into a qualifying now and to be able to repeat that every lap and do it on demand is too difficult. 

“I’m sure it’s the same for everyone, honestly, so I think we just need to make some small tweaks to the car. 

“It’s not like it’s anything crazy, it’s just tough and our [car’s handling] at the minute is just a little bit on the difficult-to-achieve side. 

“Maybe some small things in a few directions can help us out, but the pace is there or thereabouts. We can still be optimistic.”