The British team will bring a new upgrade package to Baku. Norris, with three poles and two victories in the last four races, seeks to maintain his moment and close the gap in the drivers' championship.
McLaren is not satisfied with the recent progress: the Woking team has confirmed that it will introduce a new upgrade package at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a determined bet to maintain the rhythm that has allowed it to get closer to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull in the last events of the season. The Baku street circuit will be the stage where the MCL40 shows whether the improvements are up to expectations and whether McLaren can consolidate itself as a serious contender in the final stretch of the championship.
The team arrives in Baku with high morale after a series of solid performances. Lando Norris has been one of the most competitive drivers in the last four rounds achieving three poles and two victories that have returned him to the fight for the top positions. In Madrid the Briton started from first position and led a good part of the race but lost the opportunity to fight for the win after a Virtual Safety Car favored Mercedes' strategy and a slow stop complicated his recovery, despite the disappointment the pace shown by Norris and McLaren was an unequivocal sign that the team has found the right path.
McLaren's performance will be especially important in Baku due to the characteristics of the circuit. The Azerbaijani layout combines long straights with narrow urban sections and close walls, a challenge that demands a perfect balance between top speed, aerodynamic efficiency and energy management. The British team considers that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull also have chances to fight for the victory so the development introduced this weekend will be an important test for the MCL40, if the improvements work as planned McLaren could take a step forward in its objective of fighting for victories regularly.
Norris arrives in Baku with 186 points and currently occupies fourth place in the championship, his teammate, Oscar Piastri adds 120 points and is going through a more complicated moment, with difficulties adapting to the MCL40 and finding the consistency that led him to shine in previous seasons. The difference between both drivers reflects the favorable moment that Norris is going through within McLaren where he has consolidated himself as the undisputed leader of the team at this stage of the calendar.
The Briton knows that the championship is still open and that every point counts. With nine drivers mathematically in the fight for the title, the final stretch of the season promises strong emotions. Norris trusts in his pace and in the team's work to keep closing the gap and reach the last races with real options of fighting for the championship against Kimi Antonelli, who seems unstoppable and is having a dream season, for this Baku will be a test of fire for his aspirations and for the evolution of McLaren.
The 2026 season has been a constant challenge for all the teams, with a technical regulation that has revolutionized the performance of the cars and has equalized the competition in the upper zone of the grid. The orange team has known how to adapt and has found in Norris its main bulwark and the improvements it will bring to Baku are the team's last card to demonstrate that the work done throughout the year is bearing fruit.
The Azerbaijani weekend will be crucial to determine whether McLaren can maintain its momentum or if, on the contrary, Mercedes Benz takes the absolute lead and finishes sentencing the championship.
