Why Norris calls P6 ‘Insane’ after McLaren Slump

The Norris McLaren Austria qualifying story is one of the most surprising of the 2026 season so far. Lando Norris called McLaren’s Saturday at the Red Bull Ring “pretty insane” and not in a good way. The reigning world champion and his teammate Oscar Piastri could only manage sixth and seventh on the grid, well behind rivals they had matched all weekend in practice.

What Happened in Norris McLaren Austria Qualifying?

Norris conceded that McLaren had “hoped for a little bit more” in qualifying, with him and Piastri having to settle for P6 and P7 respectively behind several rivals. That was a real shock. While Norris faced a tough start to the weekend due to a hydraulic leak, there were more promising signs in FP2 where Piastri and Norris ended second and third. They then placed fourth and fifth in FP3, but dropped back further when it came to qualifying as Mercedes and Ferrari, plus Verstappen’s Red Bull, recorded quicker times in Q3.

The final Q3 order had George Russell on pole (1m06.113s), followed by Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, then Norris in sixth and Piastri seventh. That is a tough grid slot for a team that arrived in Spielberg hoping to fight at the front.

It was quite a dramatic qualifying session overall. Verstappen spun off and crashed into the barriers late in Q3, bringing out double-waved yellow flags. Antonelli aborted his final lap, while Russell continued, lifted through the affected area, and after a brief investigation, kept his pole position. You can read the full breakdown in our article on the Austrian GP Pole: Russell Takes Controversial P1 After Verstappen Q3 Crash, and find out more about the Verstappen Austria Qualifying Crash Explained.

The McMacarena Wing That Never Ran

There is another layer to this story. McLaren arrived in Austria with a bold new weapon, an experimental “McMacarena” rear wing, inspired by Ferrari and Red Bull’s rotating designs.

The team had intended to trial its version of an upside-down rear wing on Norris’s car, a concept designed to flip in a way that sheds much more drag than a conventional wing when the car enters straight-line mode.

The new wing arrived in Austria on Friday morning and was fitted to the car ahead of practice. However, during pre-running checks in the garage, some early issues cropped up that prompted the team to steer away from running it.

It was eventually removed after McLaren realised more work was needed to make it fully functional.

Since there is only one hour of practice on a sprint weekend, it is highly unlikely McLaren will evaluate the wing at Silverstone. It will probably not be seen in public until Belgium.

Norris had previously been excited about the concept, saying “I wish we had it three months ago already.”

What McLaren Said After Qualifying

Norris was measured but honest after the session. He said his final lap was decent, maybe losing a little time in the final sector. He added that the team “maybe hoped for a little bit more,” noting they were very close to the cars ahead, but that it seemed further down the order than where they had looked across Friday and Saturday practice.

Team principal Andrea Stella said the P6 and P7 result was “a fair representation of where we stand at the moment,” acknowledging that Lando and Oscar drove well but that there is a clear gap to Mercedes and Ferrari.

Piastri also reflected on the drop. He acknowledged some disappointment at dropping to seventh, having been as high as fourth after the first Q3 runs.

He said he and Norris had been “very tightly matched the whole weekend” and that he had perhaps overstepped in a few areas on his final lap, but does not think the team had the pace to do much more.

For more on George Russell’s remarkable pole lap and why Toto Wolff is backing him long term, see our piece on why Wolff confirms Russell for 2027. You can also see how Russell topped practice in our Austrian GP FP3 report.

Looking Ahead: Can McLaren Recover in the Race?

All is not lost for McLaren on Sunday. With a gap of just a tenth and a half to the front row, combined with an expectation of high tyre degradation and multiple stops, there is real anticipation for a competitive race performance.

Norris noted it will be a long, hot race, and while McLaren needs to improve its temperature management, the team feels close enough to take advantage of battles and strategic opportunities ahead.

Piastri agreed, saying “I think potentially we can” fight for a podium, adding that “the pace of everyone at the front will be quite close.”

Stella confirmed the team’s focus is clear: “We need to continue the hard development work to add those crucial few tenths.” He pointed specifically to aerodynamics and tyre exploitation as the key areas to improve.

Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix starts at 14:00 local time. With strategy set to play a huge role around the short Red Bull Ring, McLaren will be hoping to go from P6 and P7 on the grid to the top step of the podium by the chequered flag.