Lando Norris believes McLaren will have the best Formula 1 car later this season despite a challenging start to his title defence. Norris suffered his first DNS in China after an electrical issue on the power unit and was only fifth in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. He sits 36 points behind championship leader George Russell, with McLaren 80 points adrift of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship.
“I can’t remember how many points we were behind in 2024 from Mercedes and Red Bull, Ferrari, but I think we were over 150 points [115 points] or something behind and we still managed to come back and win the Constructors’,” Norris said. “What we are thinking of is getting on the podium first of all, and then just returning to winning races. The points then take care of themselves and we’ll see what we can claw back. But we’re confident in that.
“I want to say I think we’re confident as a team and we believe in ourselves that we’ve 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. It just takes time. You have to be patient. But yes, I have a good belief in the team and I think we can have the best car this year.”
Although Norris did not disclose the specific cause of his power unit failure, he says McLaren and engine supplier Mercedes have identified the issue to “make sure it does not happen again”. Development rate will be crucial during the season given the potential of the new 2026 cars, and McLaren have a recent reputation for introducing effective upgrades without causing problems. Norris acknowledged there are “things in the pipeline” but warned it will “take time” to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari.
“We’re certainly not where we wanted to be. The real question you probably ask is would I rather be here and have won last year, or would I rather have a slightly better car now and not have won last year, and I think you know what my answer would be,” he added. “You can’t have the best of everything. 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. And now is just as good 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. But I know all the boys and the girls back in the factory are working very hard and there’s good progress happening.”
Oscar Piastri has endured an even tougher start to 2026, having not completed a Grand Prix lap after crashing on the way to the Australian grid and suffering a separate power unit problem in China. McLaren and Red Bull finished the season strongly in 2025 but have been overtaken by Mercedes and Ferrari at the start of the new era. Red Bull continued to bring late upgrades through 2025 to challenge McLaren, which may explain some shifts in the pecking order, but Piastri insisted McLaren’s situation is not down to prioritising last year’s title push.
“It’s a very different set of rules. The engine itself is one of the areas we are trying to catch up. We don’t have as much understand as we would ideally like,” Piastri said. “That’s where a lot of lap time is generated, especially in qualifying, and with the car itself. I don’t think we have sacrificed this year by trying to win the championship last year. It’s not like we were developing the whole way through the year. We were pretty bold when we switched to this year’s car as well. It’s nothing to do with lack of prioritisation, it’s just we haven’t got it quite as right as others and we need to catch up.”
Formula 1 now heads to the Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix, where teams will aim to assess early-season form and where McLaren will look to begin their recovery. The weekend’s broadcast and session schedule will be available through race broadcasters.