McLaren has fixed the Formula 1 car Lando Norris claimed was “destroyed” in his Austrian Grand Prix crash with Max Verstappen by fitting it with repaired old floors which had been damaged earlier in 2024.
Norris retired following the incident with Red Bull driver Verstappen in the closing stages of last weekend’s event at the Red Bull Ring, after which he claimed the damage incurred as he brought the MCL38 and its punctured right-rear tyre back to the pits had “destroyed [his] car”.
The Briton also claimed the damaged parts were “the best bits on the car [now] for the bin” and said “these are all the bits that we need” for this weekend’s race at Silverstone.
The British race comes at the end of F1’s first triple-header of the 2024 season, which Norris revealed had been key to McLaren’s efforts to fix his car, as it had already intended to stock up on older parts that could be repaired and redeployed if necessary at this busy part of the season.
When asked for an update on the state of his car ahead of the British GP by Autosport, Norris replied: “Everything is ok. It’s more just longer-term stuff it’s impacted more than just this weekend.
“We have some spare floors that were already damaged before, which we’ve been able to repair and get things ready for.
“The team has done an amazing job to get things ready. We knew with three races in a row, easily things can go wrong and you can easily have a lot of damage.
“It’s not hard to damage a floor in the first place – you run over a kerb and it can be damaged quite easily.
“So, the team did a good job to make sure that we had enough, [that] we’ve got some more for this weekend, and some repaired ones.”
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, retires from the race with a rear puncture and damage after contact with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, whilst battling for the lead
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
But Norris did go on to say that he feels the knock-on effect of sustaining the damage has left McLaren “maybe not in the perfect place” considering the need for repairs could prevent it investing in its car under the cost cap rules further along this season.
“Like a sidepod, brake ducts – all these kinds of things, they all add up,” he added in the pre-event press conference at Silverstone, speaking about the additional damage done to his car by the flailing rubber of the puncture.
“And when you’re in a tight fight for a championship and you’re pushing hard, you’re always trying to push the boundaries of everything besides the racing – the budget cap and everything, and CFD, all those types of things – you just want every bit of money possible.
“So, a bit of a shame, but the team did a great job to make sure everything is ok for this weekend.”