McLaren's Lando Norris makes his feelings crystal clear about the FIA's latest Red Bull-induced technical intervention

Lando Norris believes McLaren does not need to make any changes to its car following the FIA’s recent technical directive. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the 2025 Chinese GP, the British driver stated that while the FIA’s intervention, reportedly triggered by Red Bull Racing could impact other teams, McLaren remained unaffected.

The FIA has introduced stricter regulations limiting the movement of rear wings. After conducting thorough tests in Australia, the governing body reduced the allowable slot gap movement from 2mm to 0.75mm ahead of the Chinese GP, with plans to further decrease it to 0.5mm for future races.

The technical directive was introduced to prevent teams from using DRS-related tricks to gain a performance advantage. McLaren’s winning car was among those subjected to four specific rear-wing load deflection tests after the Australian GP. However, Norris asserted that his team did not need to make any adjustments in response to the directive.

He further claimed that even if the FIA had implemented these regulations following pre-season testing in Bahrain, McLaren would not have been affected. According to Norris, the directive was likely aimed at other teams.

Commenting on whether McLaren would have to make changes to its car following the FIA technical directive, Lando Norris said (via Racingnews365):

“We don’t have to change anything. In fact, ours is probably too good and we probably are not pushing the limits enough. If this technical directive was applied for last weekend, we’d also be fine. It’s not directed at us, it seems it’s directed at other teams which probably means we need to push it a little bit more.”

Lando Norris finished behind Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship last year.

---

Lando Norris reckons the McLaren MCL39 does not suit his driving style

Lando Norris believes the McLaren MCL39 does not naturally suit his driving style and possesses certain characteristics that are not to his liking. He feels the car is trickier to handle, similar to its predecessor, limiting his ability to push to the limits in terms of corner entry and braking.

Despite this, Norris claimed he has adapted by tweaking his driving approach to better suit the car. He acknowledged that it is rare for a car to be perfectly tailored to a driver’s style and that adaptation is often necessary. He also noted that the car has evolved in a different direction compared to previous years, requiring further adjustments on his part.

Speaking about the McLaren MCL39 and whether it suited his driving style, Lando Norris said (via Autosport):

“I've got to a point where I've just accepted that you can't have really a car that suits your driving. I stopped maybe asking so much for exactly what I want and more just willing to do whatever makes the car quicker. You know, it is probably a tricky car to drive and to put together laps. But clearly, it's taken a step forward to last year. It's similar characteristics [to last year's car], and some of those characteristics I don't like and do not suit the way I want to drive in an attacking way.”

“It doesn't suit me in terms of me wanting to push the entries and push the braking. It's very weak, I would say, from that point of view. So not what I like, but at the same time, some of it is down to the adaptation of needing to change a little bit my driving styles every year. The car I drive this year is very different to what a McLaren was a few years ago, clearly, because we were at the back and now we're at the front.”

Lando Norris appeared comfortably ahead of his rivals in terms of pace during the Australian GP weekend. However, the Shanghai International Circuit presents a challenge different from Albert Park and is expected to provide a clearer picture of the actual pecking order on the grid.

Following his victory in Australia, Norris leads the drivers’ championship with 25 points, while McLaren tops the constructors’ standings with 27 points. As the season progresses, Shanghai will serve as a more representative test of each team’s overall performance.