Lando Norris will head to Portimão on the Monday after the Spanish Grand Prix for a take a look at in McLaren’s 2027 Hypercar. The reigning world champion already bought behind the wheel of the brand new machine earlier this 12 months, and can now rack up mileage on Portuguese asphalt to additional contribute to the Hypercar’s improvement.
McLaren introduced in June 2026 that, alongside Components 1, GT and IndyCar, they might as soon as once more goal the highest tier of endurance racing. The Hypercar, the MCL-HY, will make its debut within the World Endurance Championship in 2027. A serious milestone was already reached late final 12 months when the automotive ran for greater than thirty hours throughout a take a look at at Motorland Aragón. Naturally, the automotive can be being meticulously ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2027.
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This Monday, McLaren will get some additional assist: Norris will take the wheel of the MCL-HY on the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, GPblog can verify. This enables McLaren to faucet into the suggestions of the reigning world champion, who was already given free rein with the Hypercar on the Goodwood Pageant of Velocity. The Brit had already hinted again then at a possible future entry within the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“, I nonetheless really feel like I need to go and check out different issues. Do Le Mans, now McLaren are doing Le Mans, so perhaps go and do this sooner or later,” stated Norris earlier within the 12 months. The reigning world champion is not any stranger to endurance racing. In 2018, he competed within the 24 Hours of Daytona within the LMP2 automotive of United Autosports (owned by Zak Brown), alongside Fernando Alonso and Philip Hanson.
Verstappen and Norris share the identical ambition
Picture: Purple Bull Content material Pool
Picture: Purple Bull Content material Pool
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In that respect, there’s a robust similarity between Max Verstappen and Norris. Each world champions have made no secret of their curiosity within the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Verstappen’s debut in a 24-hour race, nonetheless, already befell earlier this 12 months on the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. He and his Verstappen Racing teammates – Dani Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer – had been in competition for the win, however retired a number of hours earlier than the top of the race.
Verstappen has additionally expressed curiosity within the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Spa. The four-time world champion would most likely favor to compete in a Mercedes-AMG GT3, though no concrete plans have been made but.
There’s a good probability, nonetheless, that Verstappen will race the 3-hour spherical of the GT World Problem Europe Endurance in Portugal for his personal workforce. Because of the conflict with the WEC spherical in Barcelona, it’s nonetheless unclear whether or not Gounon and Juncadella will be capable of be in Portimão from October 15 to 17.
