(Motorsport-Total.com) – At the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, McLaren was only the third force in the field. In the Constructors’ World Championship, they are currently in P3 after the first three races of the season, behind Mercedes and Ferrari, and at Suzuka, Oscar Piastri secured the team’s only podium so far.
Read more Isola: Fears of Formula 1 critics have not been confirmed
Lando Norris is still waiting for his first top-3 result this year and is currently only fifth in the Drivers’ World Championship. In a Q&A from McLaren, the world champion nevertheless speaks combatively: “I believe we can have a good season, even if we are not yet where we want to be.”
“Although we did not start the season as we had hoped, we still want to give everything to win the championship,” he announces confidently and emphasizes that 2026 will not be written off now and that they will not focus on next year yet.
“I’m not sure if that approach ever really works,” says Norris, who wants to focus fully on the current season. “There are many examples where we were not quite where we wanted to be at the start of the year but ended up in a much stronger position,” he recalls.
The biggest false starts of Formula 1 world champions
Specifically, he names the years 2023 and 2024 as examples. In 2023, McLaren scored no World Championship points in the first two races but was regularly on the podium later in the season. A year later, McLaren only achieved one podium in the first four races but ended up becoming world champion.
“And we are now a stronger team than back then,” Norris emphasizes and explains: “We have experienced, achieved, and learned from that, and I trust that this team knows how to do it again. There is still a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are ready for it.”
Read more Opinion: Norris’ statements reveal Formula 1’s difficult balancing act
Oscar Piastri: We have it in our own hands
Teammate Piastri sees it similarly and explains: “I am confident that with this team we will regularly fight for wins again this season.” The last race in Japan was already a step in the right direction.
“We were able to exceed our original expectations and could have fought for the win without the safety car,” says Piastri, who led the Grand Prix in Suzuka for a long time at the start. “We still have a lot of work to do to consistently compete at the front,” he knows.
Formula 1 Quiz
How high was the fine McLaren was sentenced to after the 2007 espionage affair?
Test yourself now in the Formula 1 quiz and compare yourself with other users
At the same time, the Australian explains that they have it in their own hands to “reduce the gap to Mercedes” and to do a better job in developing the car. “This team has proven that we can turn the tide,” he also emphasizes.
“We are starting from a stronger position than on previous occasions, such as in 2024. I have full confidence that the team will do everything to get us there, and I am really excited about what we can achieve,” says Piastri.
Read more Cadillac facing a mammoth task: Developing better than the other teams