Lando Norris has again insisted he is not yet convinced he can fight for the 2026 Formula 1 championship, despite securing back-to-back victories at the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix. The win at Zandvoort made him only the second driver this season to score consecutive wins, but the McLaren driver remains humble about his car's potential.
After 12 rounds, Norris trails championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes by 83 points. In a normal season, such a margin might be considered insurmountable, but with new regulations making performance swing dramatically with each upgrade, few are willing to write off Norris's chances.
"I'm confident because we clearly have a strong car," said Norris. "We have a strong car in certain areas, but it's not like last year where we were pretty good everywhere. We're very, very strong in high speed, and that's the place we've improved the car the most. No one matches us in high speed, and that's a good thing."
Norris then detailed the comparison with Mercedes. "My pace advantage to Mercedes in Turn Seven, Eight was crazy, but their advantage that they have to us in slow speed is also crazy. And therefore, I don't have the confidence to say, 'Yeah, I can easily fight for a championship for the rest of the season.' I know I've just won two races in a row and had two poles in a row, but at the minute I don't have the car I need to fight for a championship. And I know that's quite a big comment," he stressed.
Car Development and Lessons from Last Season
The 2026 season is a major transition year with new aerodynamic and power unit regulations. Every team started from a blank sheet, making upgrades more decisive than usual. Last season, Max Verstappen nearly overturned a 104-point deficit to Norris thanks to Red Bull's aggressive development, finishing just two points behind in Abu Dhabi.
Norris also admitted that this year's McLaren is more difficult to drive than last year's, but he feels he has matured in understanding situations. "I was driving at a high level the second half of last year. It's tough to say, but I do think it's a trickier car to drive this year in some ways. You can see that because the gaps between team-mates are often bigger this year. I do believe I'm able to understand situations better, to understand the car in a better way. It's still just horrible to drive, but I'm doing a better job at just understanding this, relaying this to my team, figuring stuff out," he explained.
He added, "It's not just that I'm driving better on track, but it's also how I work off the track. For me, yesterday to today is a perfect example of the work we put in overnight transformed our race and gave me the opportunity to win."
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