(Motorsport-Total.com) – McLaren initially had to endure a setback in the 2026 Formula 1 season. For Lando Norris, however, this was almost inevitable. The reigning world champion explains that his team had to start the new regulations with a deficit due to the enormous focus on the previous season.
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“We should have been further ahead,” says Norris. At the same time, McLaren had a lot of bad luck and several problems at the start of the season. Mercedes also struggled, while Ferrari was strong and Red Bull was at least competitive at times.
For Norris, it was therefore clear that the new rules would lead to a closer field. “I think it’s the new rules where other teams have done very good work,” says the McLaren driver. Mercedes was strong at the start of the season, Ferrari then became “very, very strong.” McLaren, on the other hand, worked its way to the front gradually.
McLaren had to consciously accept the deficit
The decisive point for Norris, however, lies in the preparation for the new season. McLaren had invested so much in the development of the then car in 2025 that a slow start under the new regulations was practically unavoidable.
“We were always doomed to start this season behind because we focused so much on the previous year,” explains Norris. “It was inevitable that we would not start this season at the level of the others.”
For him, the crucial thing is therefore not the deficit at the start of the season, but the speed with which McLaren subsequently reduced it. Norris sees the great strength of his team exactly there.
“But to catch up, we overdeveloped them,” says the world champion. On a track like Zandvoort, McLaren gained “almost a second” over the competitors through its own development. Norris calls that “pretty crazy.”
Norris sees McLaren ahead in development
That McLaren is now significantly stronger again is therefore mainly attributed by Norris to the team’s development work. “I think we have done by far the best work when you consider where we were at the beginning of the year,” he says.
The development is also reflected in the results. Norris won in Zandvoort for the second time in a row after his triumph in Budapest. Nevertheless, Norris warns against automatically calling McLaren the fastest team in Formula 1 now.
After the win in Zandvoort, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and team boss Toto Wolff had said that McLaren is now the team to beat. Norris disagrees with this assessment.
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“They are still the team to beat”
“They wouldn’t say that themselves, would they?” Norris replies with a smile. For him, Mercedes remains the team to beat despite the defeat. “They are still the team to beat, even if they have been beaten.”
Nevertheless, Norris sees a development at McLaren that makes him optimistic. At the same time, he does not want to attribute the success at Zandvoort solely to the car. His own performance also played a role.
His overtaking maneuvers against Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton were particularly important. “If I hadn’t overtaken Kimi when I did, I don’t think I would have won the race,” says Norris.
Norris gives himself unusually much praise
Norris unusually openly emphasizes his own performance. Normally, he tends not to highlight himself particularly. This time, however, he makes an exception.
“But once, I would give myself a bit of credit,” says the McLaren driver. He feels he is “doing a better job than everyone else.” That too can ultimately make a difference.
The combination of his own form and McLaren’s development therefore continues to make Norris believe in his title chance. However, the comeback will not be easy. His deficit still amounts to more than 80 points.
“I’m still [more than] 80 points behind, so I wouldn’t say it’s that close. But I think it is close,” explains Norris.
Especially compared to past regulation changes, Norris sees the title fight as unusually open. “It is definitely closer than in previous years with new rules,” says the world champion.
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