McLaren shares big news ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix is the big focus this weekend at Spa, and excitement is growing after McLaren shared some important news.
After winning two Constructors’ Championships in a row in 2025, with Lando Norris claiming his first Drivers’ Championship, McLaren has had a tougher time since then. Right now, they’re third in the Constructors’ Championship and would need a miracle to catch Mercedes. Norris and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, are doing well individually, sitting fifth and sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.
At the last race in Britain, Norris finished fourth, but the team was worried about their car’s lack of straight-line speed. That’s a key issue going into the Belgian Grand Prix, since Spa has five Straight Mode zones — the most on the calendar apart from Australia earlier this year.
Good news for McLaren: journalist Erik van Haren confirmed they’ll be using Mercedes’ latest engine in Belgium, which they already tried out in Austria. They skipped it at Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, so this should help Norris and Piastri, especially since two important parts of the track rely on top speed.
Van Haren also shared that McLaren will announce a big upgrade package for the Hungarian Grand Prix next week. Neil Houldey, McLaren’s technical director of applied engineering, talked about their plans to save energy on Hungary’s long track. They’ll be testing a new rear wing during Friday practice sessions. They had planned to try a special wing called the ‘Macarena’ wing at Red Bull Ring but didn’t use it in the end.
Houldey said, “We’re coming to Spa with a new rear wing that’s part of our car’s development. We believe it will give us some extra performance, but after a tough British GP, we know this weekend won’t be easy, so we don’t expect a big jump in competitiveness.
“The Belgian GP is really tough when it comes to managing energy. It’s one of the most demanding tracks for energy on the calendar. We expect a lot of super clip use, which will challenge both the car and drivers.”
McLaren clearly has a plan to tackle their energy issues, and the team hopes for a better showing at Spa after a rough start to 2026.