Lando Norris gave a direct analysis of McLaren’s situation in the 2026 Formula 1 season after the Australian GP, highlighting that the team and he are still far from reaching the level necessary to compete at the top.
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“We are clearly far from where we need to be, probably more from the car’s point of view,” Norris told Sky Sports F1. “The race showed a lot of what we are behind on, a very, very long way, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. This won’t improve overnight.”
The current champion classified Ferrari as the team with the fastest car currently: “From what we see, they clearly have the best car. The cornering speeds are unbelievable,” he stated.
In the Melbourne race, Norris started sixth and finished fifth, but still finished 51 seconds behind the winner George Russell, from Mercedes. The British driver also commented on Red Bull Racing, which showed superior pace: “It’s clear that Red Bull was much faster, because Max (Verstappen) came from the back of the grid and almost overtook us,” he said.
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Regarding the prospects of victory in 2026, Norris was direct: “For us, at the moment, there is no chance. We have to work hard to understand what is happening and learn as much as possible from this part of the season, because it defines the rest of the year,” he added.
Despite the setback, Norris highlighted that some adjustments to the car during the race helped improve performance: “It wasn’t the best race in terms of pace, but we faced problems at the start and made some adjustments that certainly helped,” he completed.
The Briton appeared to be being realistic regarding the difficulty McLaren is expected to have this season, while Mercedes, Ferrari and, to a lesser extent, Red Bull, emerge as benchmarks in the new era of Formula 1.
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