2026 British Grand Prix – Race Report

Silverstone Circuit, Sunday, 5 July

Find out what happened during the British Grand Prix, and get the thoughts of McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Team Principal, Andrea Stella.

The 2026 British Grand Prix weekend saw the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team take home 20 points in total across two days of competitive action at Silverstone. This included 12 championship points scored this afternoon by Lando Norris, with the British driver climbing two positions to finish P4, as Sunday’s race was completed under a Safety Car following Max Verstappen’s late incident at Stowe corner.

Today's result therefore mirrors the overall level of performance witnessed throughout the weekend. A well-executed strategy put Lando in condition to challenge Verstappen and remain in contention, allowing the team to take advantage of opportunities that emerged during the second half of the race. Lando’s home race result was boosted by capitalising on mistakes and misfortune of cars ahead, adding valuable championship points to his and the team’s tally to date.

Oscar was also in condition to gain positions throughout the race, albeit in the second half of the field, following a frustrating opening lap that saw the Australian driver drop positions with an early stop after receiving damage when he was sandwiched between the two VCARB drivers, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. With not enough footage available to evaluate the MCL40’s damage while on track, the team lost the opportunity to immediately pit Oscar and were forced to call him into the box the following lap, resulting in a nose box change and Hard compound tyres being fitted to enable a longer opening stint.

Once more, following the same trend seen since Barcelona, there is a clear need to improve performance from the MCL40 to close the gap to the leading teams. While valuable progress was made throughout the weekend, a consistent deficit to the front-runners remained evident across every session at Silverstone, highlighting the work still required to compete at the very front of the field.

Closing this performance gap remains the team's highest priority. Every session throughout the weekend provided valuable data and insights, which will now be analysed extensively by the trackside and factory team. This collaborative effort will be crucial in identifying opportunities to improve the car's overall competitiveness.

The overall objective remains unchanged, to close the gap to the leading teams and consistently challenge for podium finishes and race victories. With a significant upgrade package scheduled to be introduced for the Hungarian Grand Prix later this month, the entire McLaren Mastercard team remains fully focused on extracting the maximum potential from every aspect of the current package until those developments arrive.

In the McLaren Driver Development Programme, Matteo De Palo drove a fantastic race to take his first win in FIA Formula 3 but was unfortunately disqualified post-race for a technical regulation breach, caused by being hit from behind in the closing lap. In F1 Academy, Ella Lloyd made a good start but ultimately crossed the line in P5 following contact. Ella Stevens had an unfortunate DNF after a collision from another driver caused her to retire from her home race.

Over in Italy, McLaren Driver Development’s Christian Costoya finished Race 2 of the first Euro 4 Championship round in P6 and crossed the line of Race 3 in P3. In the Imola round of the European Le Mans Series, Grégoire Saucy finished in P2 in the LMP2 category, with Richard Vershoor finishing P7 in the LMP2 PRO/AM.

Across the pond, the Arrow McLaren IndyCar are currently in action after locking out the front row for the Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Christian Lundgaard started the 90-lap race in P1, with Pato O’Ward in P2 and Nolan Siegel in P14.

“We leave Silverstone with P3 yesterday and P4 today, two results far better than our realistic pace would suggest. There are some positives to take away, we executed well, had decent reliability today, and made the most of others’ mistakes, which is a big part of racing. Plus, the support from the fans has been amazing all weekend, so I’m proud to come away with a good haul of points.

“We’ll now go away and focus on the areas for improvement before heading to Spa. There’s a lot for us to work on, but we’re committed to improving the package, so our results match our true performance

“A tough day. I got sandwiched on the first lap which broke my front wing. Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could have done and it ruined my race. Our pace was a bit stronger today, and the car was better in clean air, but the collision meant we couldn't capitalise on any of it.

“The team are working hard to improve the car, especially around rear grip, so we will keep pushing. We'll debrief and turn our focus to Spa.”

Andrea Stella

Team Principal

“Today’s Grand Prix is a welcome result with good points overall for the team, but we are under no illusions about where we stand. We were the fourth-fastest car out there, and we benefited from the misfortune of others. Therefore, today’s result was a mixed bag for the team. We are pleased to come away with a fourth-place finish for Lando, which is beyond what we felt we deserved on pure pace. The strategy team did an excellent job though with the late stop, and Lando drove well to capitalise on the opportunities that arose during the race.

“Unfortunately, Oscar’s race was ruined on the first lap after being involved in an accident that damaged his front wing, preventing him from scoring any points. The clearest takeaway from this weekend is that we must improve the performance of the car. We have a consistent gap to the front-runners that we need to close if we are to be in contention for podiums and wins, which is our ultimate goal. We have some major upgrades planned for Hungary, and until then, the entire team trackside and at the factory must continue to work hard and maximise every opportunity.”