Lando Norris reveals Declan Rice’s lap time in the McLaren Formula 1 simulator

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice recently visited the McLaren F1 factory in Woking and tried the team’s simulator.

He was accompanied by reigning world champion Lando Norris as two of Britain’s most prominent sportsmen came face-to-face. Rice has been capped 72 times by England and will be crucial to the team’s hopes of winning the World Cup this summer.

While Norris’ hopes of retaining the F1 title have been hit by Mercedes’ dominance at the start of the 2026 season, Rice is currently chasing his first Premier League winners’ medal with Arsenal.

Lando Norris rates Declan Rice’s performance in the McLaren simulator

Rice took on the Silverstone circuit, home of the British Grand Prix, and set a best lap time of around one minute, 37 seconds once he was familiar with the layout.

For context, Max Verstappen’s pole position time at last year’s race was 1:24.892, though the 2026 F1 cars are a little slower.

“He got better,” Norris told BBC Sport. “You’ve got to start somewhere. He didn’t know Silverstone as a track, so once he learnt it, he improved a lot. In the end, your final lap was pretty good.”

Rice replied: “1:37 wasn’t a bad lap.”

Norris said: “If he’d stayed a couple more laps, he would have matched me!”

A laughing Rice added: “He was taking it so easy, honestly.”

Rice was part of the England squad that attended last year’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, which gave him the opportunity to see the cars up close.

Lando Norris’ advice to Declan Rice on Premier League title race

Norris was also asked if he had any advice for Rice after becoming a world champion last season. He came under extreme pressure from Verstappen in the final rounds, ultimately finishing just two points ahead.

Norris had to wait until his sixth F1 season to even win a race with McLaren, who were still a midfield team when he started racing in 2019. He has been part of their slow climb back to the top of the sport.

He believes the key to staying calm in the biggest moments is preparation.

“I feel like you do have confidence in yourself and the team,” he said. “I wouldn’t have said the same a year ago, but that’s one of the things I learnt the most.

“Go out on the pitch, enjoy it. As long as you’ve done your preparation, you can go out on the pitch and chill.”