Current Formula 1 champion, Lando Norris admitted that McLaren still does not have enough performance to compete for podiums or victories at the start of the 2026 season. The Briton’s assessment came after a problematic weekend at the Chinese GP in Shanghai, when neither of the team’s drivers managed to start the race.
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Norris didn’t even make it to the grid due to an electrical problem in his car, while a different failure in the Mercedes engine forced the withdrawal of Oscar Piastri minutes before the start. The episode marked the first time the Briton did not start a race in his career. Meanwhile, Piastri has yet to complete a lap in main races this season, besides the Shanghai sprint, after crashing on the way to the grid in his home race in Australia.
With the “DNS”, Norris has only 15 points in the first two rounds of 2026, in a difficult start to his title defense. “It was still a weekend where we learned a lot. Already since last weekend, we’ve learned a few things,” Norris told Crash.net. “It’s also a weekend where it became clear that we still need to do a better job in understanding the power unit, and make some changes. And we also understand that the car is not at the level needed to fight for a podium or victory at the moment.
“We know we have a lot of work ahead of us, disregarding the problems we had. The team knows where we are and is very realistic about everything, so everyone is working hard. They’ve been working hard all season, but especially now, they know which direction we need to work in to get back to what we think we can achieve.”
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Despite the complicated start, Norris believes the team can react throughout the championship: “For sure. Every year is different, so it’s never a guarantee, but I have a lot of hope and faith in the team that we can turn the situation around from where we are. It’s still a very long season. After Japan, we have a good break ahead, so that’s probably a good thing for us to try to figure things out and gives us a bit more time to develop some things and see if we can put them on the car sooner.
“So, as much as it’s not the start of the year we want, I have a lot of confidence in the team that we can still improve things and fight for podiums at some point and fight for victories maybe later in the season. I want to believe that. Difficult start, but I have faith,” the driver concluded.
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