Lando Norris has pushed back against suggestions from his fellow drivers that McLaren now boasts the best car in Formula 1. The reigning world champion insists his recent wins are more down to his own driving than any technical superiority.
Norris has triumphed in the last two grands prix, in Hungary and the Netherlands, both from pole, thanks to a heavily upgraded MCL40 that went winless in the opening 10 rounds of 2026. The early season was dominated by Mercedes, who won six straight from pole, but Ferrari and McLaren have since closed the gap.
His comments came in response to Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell calling McLaren the team to beat. Antonelli, who finished second at Zandvoort, said McLaren is "clearly" ahead, and Russell agreed after taking third.
"Well, they're not going to say themselves, are they? So they're the team to beat [even] if they just got beaten today, so I don't think it's true," Norris said. "I think if I didn't get Kimi when I overtook him, I don't think I would have won the race today."
Norris also highlighted his personal contribution. "It's hard to say, but I also know how good of a job I'm doing behind the wheel. For once I would give myself a little bit of credit that I feel like I'm doing a better job than everyone," he added.
The comparison with teammate Oscar Piastri bolsters his argument. Piastri finished sixth in the Netherlands and trails Norris by 55 points in the standings, while Norris leads their qualifying head-to-head 13-4. That suggests it's Norris's driving that makes McLaren look on par with Mercedes.
He even used the Zandvoort sprint race as evidence, where Russell dominated from pole while Norris only just held off Antonelli for third. "We certainly have a very similar car, all in all, to Mercedes, but I think they have a better all-round performing car than what we do. We are more specific in high-speed corners," Norris concluded.
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