NORRIS CONFIDENT MCLAREN CAN RETURN TO THE TOP DESPITE BAD START
Lando Norris has remained confident in McLaren despite a challenging start to the 2026 Formula 1 season. The defending world champion believes the car still has strong potential, even if results so far have not matched expectations.
Speaking about the current situation, Norris admitted that the team is not where it wants to be, but made it clear there is belief inside the garage. “The car’s got a lot of potential, but we’re certainly not where we want it to be,” he said.
McLaren has found itself behind key rivals such as Ferrari and Mercedes, both of which have started the season strongly. Norris acknowledged this gap, but also pointed to the team’s long-term ambition. “You can’t have the best of everything, and I think as a team we certainly are not where we want to be and where we desire to be, but I think we all know within the team what we can achieve,” he explained.
“Now is just as good of a time as ever to prove exactly what we can do as a team, against Ferrari, against Mercedes, who are performing very well at the minute.”
Despite the current difficulties, Norris praised the effort being made behind the scenes. He highlighted the work of the engineers and staff at the factory, who are focused on improving the car step by step. “But I know the boys and the girls back at the factory are working very hard, and there’s good progress happening, it takes time to improve on some things,” he said.
At the moment, McLaren is still considered the third-best team on the grid. While this shows the team remains competitive, Norris made it clear that it is not enough for a reigning champion team.
“It’s not like we’re bad, we’re still the third best team at the minute, but we certainly enjoy being first a lot more than third,” he said. “Time will tell, we’ve got some things in the pipeline and everyone’s working hard, so we’re ambitious to get back to the top.”
Norris admits team is focusing on performance
Norris also spoke about the championship battle and the points gap, which is already growing. However, he insisted that the team is not focusing too much on the standings at this stage of the season.
“I don’t know how behind we are now in points, it’s already quite a bit,” he admitted. “But I think we’re not necessarily thinking of that just yet, what we are thinking of is getting on the podium first of all and then returning to winning races.”
He added that success in races will naturally bring the points back over time. “The points then take care of themselves and we’ll see what we can claw back, and we’re confident in that,” he said.
“We’re confident as a team and we believe in ourselves, that we won the last two championships and we won the Drivers’ last year because we could build the best car on the grid, and I’m confident we can get back to doing that this year.”
While the start of the season has not been ideal, Norris remains optimistic about what lies ahead. He believes McLaren has the ability to recover and fight again at the front, even if patience will be required. “It just takes time, you have to be patient, but I have good belief in the team and I think we can still have the best car this year,” he concluded.
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