Lando Norris believes Ferrari would “embarrass” the rest of the Formula 1 field if they had a better engine.
Lewis Hamilton ended Mercedes’ unbeaten run by winning the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday, winning the race by nearly 20 seconds from George Russell, with Norris a further four seconds behind in third.
Hamilton benefited from a timely virtual safety car but is likely to have won the Grand Prix, although he will have to overtake Norris, Russell and Cammy Antonelli before the Italian retires late.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the perfect test of the car’s aerodynamics due to its long corners and high-speed turns, where Ferrari had an advantage over its rivals.
Ferrari’s biggest weakness has been on the straights, as their power unit is inferior to Mercedes’ and Red Bull’s. However, the ADUO system has given them two opportunities to upgrade their engines this season.
They could introduce the first of these upgrades as early as this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Mercedes can upgrade an engine, but Red Bull, which has the FIA’s best engine, cannot.
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“They’re the class of the field in terms of cornering performance and we’re nowhere near them. We’re a long way from where we need to be. If they improve on the engine side, they’ll put everyone to shame.
“We really need to put our heads down and see what we can improve. But the team is working very hard. Everyone back at the factory is doing their best. Some things take time but we need to speed up the development because we want to be in the fight.”
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Lando Norris says Lewis Hamilton has hit back at his critics with his first Ferrari win, after revealing the seven-time world champion faced criticism online.
Norris’ third-place finish in Spain was only his second podium of the season and came after two retirements in Montreal and Monaco, where the McLaren driver suffered unreliable problems.
The reigning world champion is 83 points behind championship leader Antonelli and McLaren says it “needs to understand how to make the car more drivable in all conditions”.
“We were not in a fight. [in the race]. They [Ferrari and Mercedes] were very fast. The fact that we could keep pace with them was a nice surprise,” Norris said.
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Lewis Hamilton cools down in Rome with George Russell and Lando Norris looking at his first Ferrari win at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
“I felt I drove a really good race but that doesn’t mean you win; it’s like I took everything out of the car.
“We know the car is not that fast. Although we are working hard and the team is doing well to improve, everyone else is also improving. Ferrari is improving and they showed how fast they were.”
Aerodynamics and tire performance key areas for McLaren
McLaren came into the season looking for a third consecutive constructors’ championship crown but are already 121 points behind Mercedes.
They are slightly lacking in speed in all areas, including cornering speed and improved efficiency from their Mercedes power unit.
But McLaren will be encouraged by their growth rate in recent years, as they often take a bigger advantage for upgrades than their rivals.
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Lando Norris says it was special to watch Lewis Hamilton win for Ferrari as a fan, while also reflecting on a great all-British podium with Hamilton and George Russell.
“Spain has given us very clear signals. These signals are consistent with what we already knew,” said team principal Andrea Stella.
“We’ve got to add grip to the car in an aerodynamic nature, so load the tyres, and then we’ve got to improve the way the tyres interact in terms of qualifying preparation but also in the race to minimise tyre degradation.
“There is a very clear agenda from a performance perspective. We need to add aerodynamic efficiency and we need to add solutions for better tyre exploitation.”
Sky Sports F1’s Austrian GP schedule
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Take a look back at some of the year’s most dramatic moments at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Thursday 25 June
2pm: Drivers’ press conference
5.00pm: Paddock in cut
Friday 26 June
8.50am: F3 Practice
10am: F2 Practice
12.00pm: Austrian GP Practice One (Session starts at 12.30pm)
1.55pm: F3 qualifying
2.30pm: Team bosses’ press conference
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.35pm: Austrian GP Practice Two (Session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F One Show
Saturday 27 June
9am: F3 sprint
11.15am: Austrian GP Practice Three (Session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 sprint
2.15pm: Austrian GP Qualifying Build-up*
3pm: Austrian GP Qualifying*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday 28 June
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: F2 Feature Race
10.50am: Porsche Super Cup
12.30pm: Austrian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: Austrian Grand Prix*
4pm: Austrian GP reaction: Checkered flag
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
