During the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Lando Norris highlighted McLaren’s persistent weakness in high-speed corners, an area where Red Bull outperformed them significantly. Although McLaren showed strong overall form throughout the 2025 season, Max Verstappen’s dominance at Imola was largely due to Red Bull’s superior pace on the fast and technical track, which has similarities to Suzuka where they also excel.
Driver’s Perspective on Car Performance and Race Dynamics
Norris openly admitted that he struggled to feel comfortable in the car during the race, attributing Red Bull’s superior Sunday pace to setup improvements. He emphasized the urgent need for McLaren to boost their capabilities in fast corners to keep up with their rivals.
“I didn’t feel great anywhere, to be honest,” said Norris, who finished second behind Verstappen. “I didn’t feel great driving. But sometimes it’s not like that, and we are fast. So, it’s a bit hard to say. It’s a track with a lot of bumps. With many high-speed corners where it seems we have a bit of difficulty compared to the Red Bulls. We have to work on that area. And maybe that has hindered us a bit more this weekend. But we said from the start that we have to keep working hard. Max has outperformed us several times in qualifying. His pace eventually translated today [Sunday]. Sometimes they were ahead, but their pace on Sunday wasn’t very strong. Maybe they worked on some things, and their pace was better. And that’s the price we pay for not being fast enough.” —Lando Norris, McLaren Driver
Race Outcome and Implications for McLaren’s Development
Norris started the race in fourth position and delivered an impressive performance by overtaking teammate Oscar Piastri to claim second place. Despite the difficulties, Norris found some enjoyment in the challenge and the race result. However, the gap to Red Bull, particularly in fast corners, reveals a clear technical area McLaren must improve to compete at the front consistently.
