Realizing too late that the concept it was pursuing would result in an inefficient car design, the MCL60’s dragging launch specs hamstrung the Woking team both in lap times and in its ability to outperform other cars.

In the meantime, it has prepared a tweaked approach to the floor that saw the light of day at last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Behind the scenes, new team boss Andrea Stella has received a mandate to review the technical structure, with technical director James Key leaving Woking, his remit split into three separate roles amid a recruitment spree.

While the reorganization comes too late to affect McLaren’s Baku update, it’s believed it will hasten the next round of upgrades, which will reach “some kind of B-spec” by summer, as Stella puts it.

In Baku, McLaren had shown some small improvements, with Norris scoring two points in ninth and rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri in 11th.

While far from the target, the renewal and restructuring has given Norris, whose contract with McLaren expires at the end of 2025, more confidence that the team is on the right path.

“There’s no question that people and everybody who’s back at the factory looks happier and more upbeat,” Norris said. “I’m more confident with the new structure and some of the new guys we’ve got and things like that.

“Everyone is more free, willing to try new things and take bigger strides.”

Lando Norris hopes McLaren will come out of shadow soon

Photography: Simon Galloway/ motorsport pictures

Norris was stuck in the DRS train for multiple laps behind Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg on Sunday, illustrating McLaren’s ongoing lack of top speed, but most teams are finding overtaking difficult in Baku.

“Overtaking is next to impossible, especially given our straight-line speed, and how short the DRS zone is now compared to last year,” Norris explained.

“I tried my best to keep up with the car in front. I just used too many tires because we were not on the same level.

While McLaren’s Baku upgrade at the more iconic track has more potential to exploit, it’s the summer ‘B-spec’ that Norris is really excited about.

“It doesn’t help much in the very slow corners, so if you look at it in terms of pure lap times, it probably doesn’t help us much. A little bit, but not too much,” he added.

“Maybe in Miami we’ll see some of the mid-speed corners have a bigger payoff. But that’s what it is. It’s a small step forward, more of a different philosophy, with a baseline .

“Things are looking good for us coming up and certainly bigger than the steps we took this weekend.”

Additional reporting by Oleg Karpov