Flattering only to deceive? Lando Norris ending Friday second fastest boosts McLaren

The reigning Formula 1 World Champion ended FP2 only 0.190 seconds behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli after the team improved the balance of the MCL40 between sessions.

Oscar Piastri finished sixth after a hydraulic leak and gearbox change disrupted his Friday programme. The Australian completed only 11 laps in FP2 after McLaren mechanics worked into the session, eventually getting him onto the circuit 19 minutes after the green light.

Despite Piastri’s setback, Technical Director Neil Houldey believes McLaren appeared more competitive than during recent Formula 1 weekends. He said: “We’re reasonably happy with the general pace shown today and feel we’re a bit better in relation to the usual status quo seen over the past few race weekends.”

McLaren arrived at Spa with a new lower-downforce rear wing, initially testing the specification on Piastri’s car during FP1. Norris used the alternative version in the opening session before switching to the new wing for FP2, where he improved from seventh to second.

Norris described Friday as “a progressive day” after McLaren made positive setup changes. He explained: “The one-lap pace seems reasonable, and we feel a bit happier with the balance now compared to this morning. However, we're not getting ahead of ourselves.”

The Briton expects Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull to reveal more performance on Saturday. He added: “We've seen this pattern before on Fridays, and we expect the leading competitors to show their hand more tomorrow,” with McLaren still uncertain where it genuinely sits in the Spa pecking order.

McLaren’s planned high-fuel running was curtailed when Pierre Gasly crashed heavily at Stavelot, scattering debris across the circuit. The red flag left little time for further representative running, although Norris and Piastri returned during the closing minutes to complete their practice starts.

Norris will also serve a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday after using a fourth power electronics unit. He said McLaren would continue pushing despite the setback: “We'll see where we truly stand tomorrow and keep working hard to continue moving in the right direction.”

Piastri had been fifth fastest during FP1 before the hydraulic problem appeared with around two minutes remaining. He managed to return slowly to the garage, allowing McLaren to begin its investigation immediately, but the repair also required the team to change his gearbox.

Piastri recovered to sixth despite his restricted mileage and finished 0.982 seconds behind Antonelli. He said: “We made good progress in FP2, and our pace is looking reasonable. We are heading in the right direction, and we are in a good place to build on that in FP3 tomorrow and into Qualifying.”

Spa’s long straights and heavy energy demands make deployment strategy especially important under Formula 1’s 2026 regulations. McLaren will therefore concentrate overnight on refining energy usage while ensuring Piastri’s hydraulic problem does not create further reliability concerns.

Houldey confirmed the new rear wing had performed as expected, giving McLaren another positive ahead of Qualifying. However, Norris’ second place remains only an encouraging Friday reference, with the team expecting the genuine competitive order to become clear when its leading rivals reveal their full performance on Saturday.