Lando Norris driving McLaren’s new Hypercar may seem inconsequential in the grand scheme of Formula 1 things, but the reigning world champion would disagree.
Norris took the wheel of the MCL-HY at Algarve last week, completing just 38 laps – enough to get a feel for the World Endurance Championship’s top machinery and provide feedback to McLaren ahead of the brand’s 2027 debut.
The 26-year-old was impressed with the depth of set-up options relative to F1 and insisted it was ‘still a quick car’ when asked by Autosport about his thoughts following the test.
“The level of detail that they go into is pretty crazy,” Norris said. “They have, in some situations, a lot more scope to do things with the car than what we’re allowed to do in Formula 1.
“As much as you think Formula 1 is ‘you can do whatever you want’, it’s not quite that. With how you can change the toys and set up the car itself, it’s actually quite a bit more limited than you can do with the Hypercar in terms of electronics and all of these things.
“So it’s pretty cool to see what you could do. It’s a bit more like old-school Formula 1, when it was a bit more just a free-for-all on what you could do, which is a good thing.
“Of course, it’s a very different car, it’s quite a heavy car, so adapting to that; obviously quite a bit less downforce, but it still feels like a quick car, so it’s still exciting.”
As a reference, Peugeot’s Malthe Jakobsen took pole position in 2m00.653s at this year’s Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours, where F1’s 2026 benchmark was Kimi Antonelli’s 1m44.361s while Rafael Camara topped F2 qualifying in 1m56.306s.
Norris was joined at the Portuguese track by two of McLaren’s 2027 drivers, Mikkel Jensen and Laurens Vanthoor, which provided the Briton with further learning opportunities.
“It was more, again, for me to try something and also to learn things,” he said. “Everything I do, really, even when I drive other cars, is always to try and learn things – understand different styles, learn from the other drivers that I met over there, and see what I can take onboard to help me drive better this weekend.
“So it’s always a good opportunity, especially to stay within the McLaren family. It helps me learn and be more focused for doing my real job, which is Formula 1.”
Norris was adamant about that last part when the 2027 Le Mans 24 Hours was brought up, given the race doesn’t clash with F1 next year – only the Test Day does.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: McLaren
“It’s not something I’ve been thinking about, at all,” he insisted. “All my focus is still on F1, and will always be. I’ll never sacrifice something in Formula 1 for something else.
“If there’s a chance that things can work out, maybe, but I don’t know if this is next year, the year after, three years, four years – I have no idea. Again, it’s not something I’ve been thinking about at all, but it’s something I would like to do in the future.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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