Lando Norris will test McLaren’s MCL-HY hypercar before returning to Formula 1 action at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from September 24 to 26.
Lando Norris will test McLaren’s MCL-HY hypercar before returning to Formula 1 duty at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The outing gives the McLaren driver different machinery to handle after his victory bid unraveled in Madrid on September 13.
The confirmed test puts another assignment on Norris’ schedule between Rounds 14 and 15 of the 2026 Formula 1 season. McLaren’s MCL-HY is its Le Mans Hypercar project, so Norris will drive a prototype instead of his usual Grand Prix car before the paddock reconvenes in Baku.
Norris finished third in the Spanish Grand Prix, 5 seconds behind winner Kimi Antonelli, after a virtual safety car affected his race. Max Verstappen separated them in second, finishing 4.3 seconds behind the Mercedes.
A quick switch after Madrid
The hypercar run follows a 57-lap Spanish Grand Prix. Norris left Madrid with a podium, but the virtual safety car cost him the result he had pursued at the front.
Antonelli won for Mercedes, ahead of Verstappen and Norris. Charles Leclerc took fourth, with George Russell and Liam Lawson next. Franco Colapinto finished seventh, Oscar Piastri eighth, Arvid Lindblad ninth and Nico Hulkenberg 10th.
Norris will move from McLaren’s Formula 1 program to its sports car operation for the test. The two cars compete in different championships and formats, with the MCL-HY designed for endurance racing instead of the shorter schedule of a Grand Prix weekend.
The run carries no Formula 1 points consequence. It is a separate test before Norris resumes his 2026 campaign in Azerbaijan.
McLaren connects its programs
The MCL-HY test puts one of McLaren’s Formula 1 race winners behind the wheel of the manufacturer’s hypercar machinery.
Norris has two victories through the opening 14 Grands Prix of 2026. He won in Hungary on July 26, covering 70 laps in an hour and 39 minutes, then claimed the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23 after 72 laps in almost two hours and 5 minutes.
Those results came during Mercedes’ dominant return. Antonelli has won eight of the first 14 races, helping Mercedes collect 10 victories. Russell delivered the other two Mercedes wins, taking Australia on March 8 and Austria on June 28.
Ferrari has two wins. Lewis Hamilton claimed the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on June 14, while Leclerc won the British Grand Prix on July 5. Hamilton’s Madrid weekend ended with a brake failure and a classification of 22nd, six laps behind Antonelli.
Norris moves on from a difficult Sunday
The hypercar test gives Norris an early return to the cockpit after the Spanish result, rather than a complete break before Baku.
Third place was McLaren’s best result in Madrid. Piastri finished eighth after damage contributed to an afternoon he called “painful.” Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Lawson and Colapinto all finished between the McLaren teammates.
Norris crossed the line only 0.7 seconds behind Verstappen. The official gaps to Antonelli were 4.3 seconds for Verstappen and 5 for Norris, leaving the podium covered by slightly more than five seconds after the virtual safety car changed the order.
McLaren will briefly split its attention between Formula 1 preparations and the MCL-HY test. There is no driver change, and Norris is due back in his regular race seat for Round 15.
Baku starts the next run
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix runs from September 24 to 26, leaving 11 days between the Madrid race and the opening day of the Baku weekend. It begins a compact three-event stretch on the current calendar.
Bahrain hosts Round 16 from October 2 to 4. Singapore follows with Round 17, scheduled for October 9 to 11.
Norris’ immediate schedule starts in different machinery. He will complete the McLaren MCL-HY test, then return to the team’s Formula 1 car for the first Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice session on September 24.
