Lando Norris completed 38 laps in McLaren’s MCL-HY Hypercar at the Algarve circuit, sharing running with the team’s confirmed 2027 World Endurance Championship drivers, Mikkel Jensen and Laurens Vanthoor. It was the latest step in the Lando Norris McLaren Hypercar test programme, which McLaren is using to prepare its WEC entry.
Norris used the day mainly to sharpen his own driving craft, telling Autosport the experience gave him plenty to take back to Formula 1. We covered the build up to the programme in our report on the Portimao test.
Lando Norris completes 38-lap McLaren Hypercar test at Algarve
The 38 laps came alongside Jensen and Vanthoor at the Algarve circuit, giving Norris his most substantial time yet in the MCL-HY. It’s the car McLaren will race when its WEC programme begins in 2027, and the outing doubled as an early look at what that machine can do.
Norris was frank about his motivation. He wasn’t there to audition for a future seat; he was there to pick up ideas he could carry back to his day job.
Autosport quotes confirm F1 focus and technical findings
Talking to Autosport after the running, Norris explained why the Hypercar’s technical rules appealed to him. “The level of detail that they go into is pretty crazy,” he said. He then compared the two categories directly: “They have, in some situations, a lot more scope to do things with the car than what we’re allowed to do in Formula 1.”
He expanded on the point at length. “As much as you think Formula 1 is ‘you can do whatever you want’, it’s not quite that. With how you can change the toys and set up the car itself, it’s actually quite a bit more limited than you can do with the Hypercar in terms of electronics and all of these things,” Norris said. “So it’s pretty cool to see what you could do. It’s a bit more like old-school Formula 1, when it was a bit more just a free-for-all on what you could do, which is a good thing.”
Despite the curiosity, he was clear about where his priorities sit. “All my focus is still on F1, and will always be. I’ll never sacrifice something in Formula 1 for something else,” Norris told Autosport.
Squad impact and technical differences between MCL-HY and F1
Jensen and Vanthoor are McLaren’s confirmed drivers for the 2027 WEC campaign, and their presence at Algarve underlined how the wider operation now spans both Formula 1 and a fresh endurance project. Norris said staying close to that group made sense for him. “So it’s always a good opportunity, especially to stay within the McLaren family. It helps me learn and be more focused for doing my real job, which is Formula 1,” he said.
The Lando Norris McLaren Hypercar test also doubled as a personal learning exercise, in his own words, rather than preparation for a category switch. “It was more, again, for me to try something and also to learn things,” he said, adding: “Everything I do, really, even when I drive other cars, is always to try and learn things, understand different styles, learn from the other drivers that I met over there, and see what I can take onboard to help me drive better this weekend.”
The car itself feels nothing like his grand prix machine. “Of course, it’s a very different car, it’s quite a heavy car, so adapting to that; obviously quite a bit less downforce, but it still feels like a quick car, so it’s still exciting,” Norris said. The comparison echoes a wider theme at McLaren this year, with recent F1 setup adjustments also built around getting the balance right for its drivers.
McLaren 2027 WEC timeline and Le Mans schedule context
McLaren is building towards its 2027 World Endurance Championship debut with the MCL-HY, the project this Algarve test was designed to support. The pace gap between categories was clear at Spa-Francorchamps this year. Peugeot’s Malthe Jakobsen took Hypercar pole for the 6 Hours in 2m00.653s, more than 16 seconds off Kimi Antonelli’s 1m44.361s Formula 1 benchmark and over 4 seconds slower than Rafael Camara’s 1m56.306s Formula 2 time.
The 2027 Le Mans 24 Hours does not clash with the Formula 1 calendar, though according to additional reporting from Motorsport.com, its Test Day does. Asked directly about a start at Le Mans, Norris was measured rather than dismissive. “It’s not something I’ve been thinking about, at all,” he said, before adding: “If there’s a chance that things can work out, maybe, but I don’t know if this is next year, the year after, three years, four years, I have no idea. Again, it’s not something I’ve been thinking about at all, but it’s something I would like to do in the future.”
