Lando Norris’s second‑place run in Friday’s Spa‑Francorchamps practice left a single‑second spread between the top six, far wider than the circuit’s typical power‑car dominance.
Pedalling through the SPa Potential
The red‑brick layout demanded both the low‑drag best of the first and third sectors and the high‑downforce requirement of its middle bumps. McLaren’s latest low‑drag rear wing poured over the Kemmel straight, yet the team still reported a “lack of deployment” on every straight, especially Blanchimont where speeds dropped from 320 km/h to 270 km/h because the battery was exhausted.
Norris admitted the car felt “very, very difficult to drive,” noting that the gap to the championship front‑runner, Kimi Antonelli, narrowed to only 0.2 seconds after a 1.8‑second swing between FP1 and FP2. He also highlighted that “we should not expect anything different from normal” even while claiming the car had improved compared to the previous session.
Deployment Dynamics Divide the Teams
Comparing telemetry, Antonelli’s Mercedes skimmed the run to Eau Rouge more aggressively, depleting energy earlier on the downhill. Norris’s speed lagged there, but he regained advantage on the Kemmel straight, running approximately five kilometres per hour faster. In contrast, Antonelli grabbed a 15 km/h advantage on the Pouhon run, widening the gap again.
Both drivers then jostled for position on the approach to the Les Combes chicane, where Antonelli overshot the energy budget, cutting through early. Norris managed a 13 km/h peak on the run towards Fagnes, bringing the two laps almost level before Mercedes made further gains on Blanchimont.
McLaren’s technical director Neil Houldey said, “We’ve got opportunities in deployment – everyone is working out what the optimal deployment looks like this weekend.” He added that an “optyimal lap” remains elusive but is within reach through overnight simulations.
Next Steps for the Frog‑Peters Team
With a 10‑point grid penalty looming, Norris must balance power‑unit changes with the fine‑tuning of electrical resource allocation. McLaren plans to experiment further in FP3, hoping the adjustments will translate to qualifying pace while keeping pace with Mercedes’s “optimal lap” strategy.
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