Norris Unveils McLaren's Strategy to Defend Title

Lando Norris is confident that McLaren can still mount a strong title defense despite a slow start to the F1 season. The reigning champion believes his team can "push hard" to bridge the gap with Mercedes and Ferrari. Norris trails early championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 47 points but remains optimistic about their chances. "I think we can have a good season, even if we're not where we want to be right now," Norris said. "We still want to push hard for the championship; this isn't a case of giving up and focusing on next year." McLaren has almost five weeks to work on their cars before the season resumes in Miami, and Norris is counting on this break to turn things around. He cited past examples where the team overcame similar challenges to finish the season strong. Norris emphasized the importance of resolving reliability issues and accumulating more track time to develop their car and power unit. Teammate Oscar Piastri also expressed confidence in the team's ability to get back into regular victory contention over the remaining 19 races. "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," Piastri said. The Australian driver has complete trust in the team to turn things around and is excited to see what they can achieve. Formula 1 returns on May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1.