Alex Brundle has issued a stark warning: if McLaren can carry its winning form into Monza and beyond, then Mercedes could have a "big problem on their hands." The warning comes after Lando Norris secured his second consecutive victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Dutch Grand Prix, beating Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
At Zandvoort, Norris was impressive, capitalizing on McLaren's latest upgrades. He won a chaotic race with an 11.5-second gap over Antonelli. This victory underscores that McLaren is now in its best form, and Brundle believes the upcoming circuits will be the true test.
"We're coming off a pair of circuits that are less energetically starved in the way that we saw Mercedes dominate at Silverstone and be really strong at Spa," Brundle told F1 TV. "There are going to be those circuits coming, and that effect hasn't gone away. It's going to be interesting to see how this McLaren form rolls on into Monza. If it's the same there, then I think Mercedes have got a problem on their hands."
Interestingly, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has a different view. He believes Mercedes will not be overly concerned about Norris's late title bid, given the upgrade package expected for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
"Inevitably, the field was going to close up from Melbourne, and it has done with Ferrari, with McLaren, with Red Bull as well bringing upgrades," Palmer explained. "Mercedes hit back in Canada where they moved further away from the field. That was their only real big hit of upgrades. So, I'm hearing Baku is going to be their big chance. Obviously, Monza is such an outlier of a circuit that might suit them. Then we go to Madrid, which is a complete unknown for everybody. So, Baku is the one that they've targeted."
Palmer also downplayed Norris's title chances. "I don't think they're going to be losing sleep over Lando right now. He seems like he's too far away. And when you look at Kimi still putting in the performances very consistently, I would say it's such a long shot for Norris. But for me, you could argue he's the driver of the season. He's put in so many top drives and now he has the car he didn't have earlier on, and he's just smashing out the wins."
With the competition heating up, the second half of the 2026 season promises to be a proving ground for both teams. Will McLaren maintain its momentum, or will Mercedes bounce back with its Baku upgrade package? We'll have to wait and see.
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