McLaren’s Early Struggles Won’t Define Season, Insists Norris amid Mercedes Lead

Lando Norris has insisted that neither he nor McLaren are prepared to walk away from their Formula 1 title ambitions, despite a difficult start to the new regulations era that has left them chasing Mercedes in both championships.

After coming into the season as reigning constructors’ champions, McLaren have found the early rounds far tougher than expected. Mercedes have set the pace with 135 points, with Kimi Antonelli leading the drivers’ standings on 72 points and George Russell close behind on 63. Ferrari sit second in the constructors’ table on 90 points, while McLaren are a distant third on 46, already facing a significant early deficit.

Norris, who sits fifth in the drivers’ standings on 25 points and trails Antonelli by 47, has been open about the challenge but clear that there will be no change in mindset inside the team. “I think we can have a good season, even if we’re not where we want to be right now,” he said. “And although we haven’t started the season where we want to be, we still want to push hard for the championship, this isn’t a case of giving up and focusing on next year.”

He added that McLaren’s recent history shows why they remain confident about recovery over a long season. “There’s plenty of examples where we’ve not quite been where we want to be at the start of the year, but have ended up in a much stronger position by the end, 2023, 2024 and so on, and we’re a stronger team now than we were then,” Norris explained.

Despite the early setback, Norris does not believe McLaren are far away from contention, even if the results suggest otherwise. “We’re not in a terrible position, but we’ve definitely got to work to get back in contention for wins, and, even then, we need to keep going to make sure we’ve got a car capable of winning every single weekend,” he said.

He also pointed to specific issues that have slowed their adaptation to the new regulations, particularly around track time and data collection. “We’ve also had some issues that really haven’t helped our development of these cars. One thing we realised very early is that time in the car, and getting laps on the board, is so important when it comes to learning how to get the most out of the car, and specifically the power unit,” Norris said.

“Tiny, tiny margins make significant differences. Combine that with the fact that we didn’t start the Grand Prix in China, and that we didn’t get enough track time during practice in Japan, and it’s easy to see where we’re lacking.”

Even so, McLaren are using the early-season gap in the calendar to accelerate their understanding of the new package, with work both in the simulator and on track aimed at closing the deficit. Norris remains convinced that time will bring improvement rather than resignation.

Oscar Piastri, who sits sixth in the standings on 21 points, also shares that belief in McLaren’s ability to recover, saying: “We have a lot of work to do to be back at the front consistently, but closing the gap to Mercedes and out-developing the field is something that’s within our control.”

For McLaren, the early numbers make for uncomfortable reading, but they certainly consider the fight for the title nowhere near finished.

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