Lando Norris was bullish about McLaren's superior MCL39 over the course of the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, saying the FIA regulation change was pointless.
Norris followed teammate Oscar Piastri home, delivering another McLaren one-two in the Spanish Grand Prix in dominant fashion.
That was not the result McLaren rivals, namely Red Bull and Ferrari, were hoping for when they pushed for the FIA to clamp down on flexible front wings, which they suspected were giving the Papaya cars their edge.
Piastri was on pole, three tenths clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen in third, while Norris was second, two tenths behind his teammate.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur claimed the change could be a game-changer while his driver, Lewis Hamilton slammed it as a waste of money.
In the race, Red Bull threw everything at McLaren, going for a bold three-stop strategy to make sure Verstappen remained in touch with Piastri and Norris, but even before the spectacular Red Bull/Verstappen implosion following the Safety Car, the best the four-time Formula 1 champion would've achieved was third place.
Asked about the new FIA Technical Directive in Barcelona, Norris responded: "There was a lot of complaints about our car, and they introduced this TD [Technical Directive] and changed nothing.
McLaren engineers have simply built a great car
"The team have done a very good job to just give us a good all-round car and the best car on the grid. So, we're very proud to be able to go and drive those cars every weekend.
"It's credit to the team that we have, to give day in and day out," the Briton maintained.
However, and despite supreme race pace and tyre management, McLaren are yet to enjoy the same advantage in qualifying trim, a fact Norris made sure he highlighted.
"I think people seem to quickly forget how close the other qualifying sessions have been," he said. "They've been split by hundredths and thousandths, and there hasn't been smooth sailing for us in every single one. So, I think that will be the case in future ones.
"But it's clear we just have the best car on average, and we still seem stronger in the race. Although, it's clear that the others are catching up. Our gaps in the race were probably a lot bigger in the beginning of the year than they are now.
"I do think that our competitors are catching up. But, we just need to keep our heads down and keep working hard," Norris concluded.
Norris is second in the F1 drivers' championship, ten points behind Piastri and 39 points clear of Verstappen in third. McLaren lead the constructors' championship over Ferrari by 197 points.
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