Norris: Ferrari would 'embarrass' F1 with better engine
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- Lando Norris said Ferrari would "embarrass" the entire F1 field with a better engine, telling Sky Sports F1: "We are lucky that Ferrari don't have a better engine at the minute. If they had a better engine, they would be dominating."
- Lewis Hamilton won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix by nearly 20 seconds over George Russell, ending Mercedes' unbeaten Sunday run in 2026, with Norris finishing third a further four seconds back
- Ferrari holds the class-of-the-field cornering advantage but trails Mercedes and Red Bull on straight-line speed due to a weaker power unit, and has two engine upgrade opportunities under the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system — with an upgrade speculated for the Austrian GP
- McLaren sits 121 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship, with Norris 83 points adrift of championship leader Kimi Antonelli
- Team principal Andrea Stella identified aerodynamics and tyre exploitation as the two key development areas, calling it a "quite a clear agenda" after Spain confirmed the team's known weaknesses
- Norris's third place in Barcelona was just his second podium of 2026, coming after retirements in Montreal and Monaco due to reliability issues
Why it matters: Norris's public praise for Ferrari's aero pace reveals McLaren has lost its title-winning edge — the reigning champions trail by 121 points in the constructors' standings, and the gap widens if Ferrari deploys its first ADUO engine upgrade at the Austrian GP. McLaren must close an aerodynamic and tyre-degradation deficit before their title defense becomes mathematically hopeless.
