F1 champion Lando Norris claims new McLaren 'feels like F2 car'

Lando Norris

F1 champion Lando Norris claims new McLaren 'feels like F2 car'

Norris described the feeling in the 2026 car

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 6 February 2026 13:54 Updated: 15:00

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F1 champion Lando Norris has compared his experience in the 2026 McLaren to driving an Formula 2 car.

Norris got behind the wheel of the brand new generation of cars at the Barcelona shakedown last week, where he completed a total of 163 laps (759km).

Despite the extensive mileage, Norris hasn't quite decided whether he likes the new concept of cars and even likened it to F2 machinery.

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F2 is the final rung on the feeder series ladder to F1, with Norris last driving in the series in 2018 where he finished as the runner-up to George Russell.

Norris: 2026 cars like F2

When explaining how it felt to drive the MCL40, Norris said: “It certainly feels more like an F2 car in some ways with how you have to drive it. I don't know if I like that or not for the time being.

“I think we understood quite a few things already from Barcelona on how you had to drive the car, but in Barcelona you're talking about fourth-gear corners, third-gear corners, quite open, quite wide.

"When you get to a street track or bumpy tracks, slower tracks, I think that's a question we're yet to answer, and Bahrain will answer some of those questions.”

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

The 2026 F1 season gets underway on Friday, March 6 at the Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.

The first session of the year (FP1) starts at 12:30pm local time (1:30am GMT), while the first qualifying of 2026 takes place on Saturday, March 7 at 4pm local time (5am GMT).

Lights out for the first grand prix of the year is on Sunday, March 8 at 3pm local time (4am GMT).

Before the first race weekend of 2026, two three-day tests in Bahrain will take place. The first will be from Wednesday, February 11 until Friday, February 13, while the second will take place on Wednesday, February 18 until Friday, February 20.