McLaren struggles at Monza: H-Wing successful but Norris still concerned

Lando Norris did not hide his frustration after Friday at Monza. The British driver finished only 4th in FP2, 0.384 seconds behind the leader. "We don't have the pace we expected. The car feels tricky in some corners, especially on the long straights," Norris told reporters. This is a worrying sign for the team that dominated high-downforce circuits like Hungaroring and Zandvoort. However, not everything is negative. McLaren brought a completely new rear wing to Monza, called the H-Wing. According to technical director Neil Houldey, the wing worked exactly as designed. "We ran it in FP2 and it worked without issues. We will do more inspection, but it's a good step forward," Houldey shared. The H-Wing is designed to reduce drag on straights while maintaining downforce in corners. This is a notable technical innovation in the fiercely competitive aerodynamic performance landscape. McLaren's biggest problem at Monza seems not only aerodynamic. Houldey admitted that the car has good balance between high-speed and low-speed corners, but still lacks straight-line speed. "We have some opportunities to improve energy harvest and deployment. That's the area we will focus on tonight," he added. This suggests the issue may be related to the ERS (Energy Recovery System) of the Mercedes power unit, a key factor affecting top speed. The mismatch between expectations and reality is also notable. McLaren expected to be strong in corners where they were weak, and vice versa. This indicates that the car's aerodynamic map is not fully optimized for Monza's unique layout – a track with long straights, slow chicanes, and famous corners like Lesmo and Parabolica. This is a major challenge for McLaren's engineering team to find a solution overnight. On the leaderboard, Mercedes and Ferrari look very strong. George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, and Charles Leclerc all had impressive pace. This confirms the trend that Mercedes has significantly improved on low-downforce tracks since last season, while Ferrari has always been strong at Monza. Red Bull was not mentioned in the article, but if they are also strong, McLaren's chances of pole become even slimmer. Nevertheless, Norris remains professional. He did not blame the team, but frankly pointed out weaknesses. "We know we need to improve. The team has worked very hard, and I believe we can find a better way for tomorrow," Norris said. This openness could be part of a sandbagging strategy, but his frustrated tone suggests this is a real issue. Tactically, McLaren may consider a different tire strategy for qualifying. If tire degradation is not too high, they could use soft tires in Q2 to save a set for Q3. However, there is no specific tire degradation data from practice sessions. The team will have to decide based on simulations and experience. The H-Wing could also attract attention from the FIA. Flexible wings have always been a gray area in technical regulations. If rival teams protest, the FIA could issue a new Technical Directive. Currently, the H-Wing has passed initial mechanical checks, but Houldey's phrase "will do more inspection" suggests the team is not 100% sure of full compliance. Overall, McLaren faces a major challenge at Monza. The 0.384-second gap is significant but not insurmountable. With overnight improvements in car setup and energy optimization, they could close the gap to 0.1-0.2 seconds – enough to fight for the front row. However, if the low-downforce weakness is structural, McLaren will struggle not only at Monza but also at similar tracks like Spa and Baku in the future. For fans, this is an exciting scenario. A team that once dominated suddenly becomes weak at a legendary circuit. Can McLaren turn things around? The answer will come in Saturday's qualifying. But whatever the result, this diverse competition is what makes modern Formula 1 so compelling. This article is based on technical analysis and data from Friday practice at the Monza circuit. All information is compiled from reliable sources and years of experience following the sport. It offers an in-depth perspective on the challenge McLaren is facing, and hopes to provide readers with a comprehensive view of this weekend's race.