Ruth Buscombe-Divey saw Lando Norris do one thing that shows McLaren are ‘the happiest team’ after F1 testing

McLaren driver Lando Norris didn’t trouble the top of the times on the third and final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. He ended up 11th, nearly 1.4 seconds off the pace set by George Russell.

Norris completed the pre-lunch duties for McLaren before handing over to teammate Oscar Piastri. Piastri produced some purple sectors but didn’t put together a lap that really threatened Russell or second-place Max Verstappen.

On day one, Norris was quickest, though his 1:30.430 looked relatively pedestrian by the end of the week. It remained his best effort overall as he sank to 14th on Thursday.

But there’s no indication that McLaren showed the full extent of their speed. In fact, they may not even have come close.

Norris is widely considered the favourite for the 2025 title, even though Verstappen has won the last four in a row. McLaren had the fastest car on balance last season, which allowed them to end a constructors’ drought that stretched back to 1998.

Lando Norris looks like a ‘happy chappy’ after testing new McLaren car, Ruth Buscombe-Divey says

In the final minutes of testing, the F1 commentary team made their picks for the winners and losers of the three days. Ruth-Buscombe Divey, a former Ferrari and Alfa Romeo strategist, named McLaren as the ‘happiest team’.

David Croft and Bernie Collins had both gone for Ferrari, fresh from the acquisition of superstar Lewis Hamilton. But Buscombe-Divey put McLaren ‘marginally’ ahead.

Given her background, she will often base her conclusions on the data. But this time, it was the look on Norris’ face that was instructive.

She noticed that Norris was ‘rather smirky’ after his programme had concluded. That suggests he’s struggling to contain his excitement after sampling the MCL39.

“It’s tough between Ferrari and McLaren,” Buscombe-Divey said. “But I saw a rather smirky Lando Norris. He looks like a happy chappy. I’m going to say McLaren are marginally the happiest team.”

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Ted Kravitz has been wowed by McLaren’s new car, which introduces multiple innovations despite the success of last year. Kravitz called it a ‘very tidy package’.

Norris is bidding to become McLaren’s first drivers’ champion since Hamilton in 2008. F1 has only had one first-time title winner since 2016.

While Norris’ single-lap pace isn’t outwardly impressive, his speed on high fuel has got the paddock talking. It’s more subtle than a headline lap time, but it was ominous nonetheless.

Norris would have won by 12 seconds in the simulated Bahrain Grand Prix, one analyst says. Charles Leclerc was effectively second, with Kimi Antonelli third.