Lando Norris remains convinced that McLaren can still mount a serious challenge for the world championship once the Formula 1 calendar picks up again after the Miami Grand Prix. Even though rivals Mercedes and Ferrari have enjoyed stronger starts to the new era, Norris believes the British driver’s team has the capacity to "push hard" and stay in the title conversation.
The reigning champion has not yet stood on the podium in any of the first three rounds of his title defence, while teammate Oscar Piastri managed a second‑place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix. Piastri could even have taken the win if not for a late‑stage Safety Car that disrupted McLaren’s momentum during a promising run, just before the sport’s mandatory April pause. Now, with the break giving every team roughly five weeks to return to their factories and work on the cars, Norris feels the opportunity to reverse the early‑season deficit is still very much alive.
"I think we can have a good season, even if we're not where we want to be right now," the 2023 champion said, noting that he trails early‑season leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes by 47 points. He was quick to stress that McLaren is not contemplating a surrender or a shift of focus to next year. "This isn’t a case of giving up and looking ahead to next season – that approach rarely works," Norris explained. He pointed to several historical examples where teams have started the year out of position but finished strongly, citing McLaren’s own progress in 2023 and 2024 as evidence that the outfit is now stronger than it was in those earlier campaigns.
"We've been there, done it, learned from it and I trust that this team knows how to do it again. There's a lot of hard work ahead, but we're ready for it," he added, underscoring the collective belief within the garage. Norris, who finished fifth in both Australia and Japan, highlighted reliability as a key area that needs immediate attention.
The McLaren car has suffered from intermittent issues, and the Mercedes‑supplied power unit has also shown occasional gremlins. "We're not in a terrible position, but we have to get back into contention for wins and then keep pushing to have a car that can fight for victory every weekend," he said. He also stressed the importance of track time for development. "Early on we realised that time in the car and getting laps on the board is crucial for learning how to extract the maximum from the chassis and the power unit," Norris noted.
"Tiny margins make a huge difference. Combine that with the fact that we missed the Chinese Grand Prix and didn’t get enough practice time in Japan, and you can see why we’re lagging. The gap between the Japanese round and the upcoming Miami event is being used intensively.
McLaren is pouring resources into simulator work and even conducted a tyre‑testing session at the Nürburgring, despite the test being primarily aimed at next‑year tyre development. "Time behind the wheel never hurts, even if the focus is on tyres for 2027," Norris said, adding that the extra seat time helps the engineers understand how the car behaves under different conditions. Piastri echoed his teammate’s optimism, asserting that the team has the tools to become regular front‑runners 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 rest of the field is something we can control," the Australian driver explained. He also reflected on McLaren’s history of turning seasons around, noting that the current situation feels more promising than previous years, such as 2024, when the team struggled to find pace. "I have complete trust that the team will do everything it can to get us there and I’m genuinely excited to see what we can achieve," Piastri said. The next test of McLaren’s resolve will come at the Miami Grand Prix, scheduled for May 1‑3, which also marks the season’s second Sprint weekend.
The event will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming options available through NOW without a contract. As the team heads into the hiatus, both drivers stress that the focus is on solving reliability puzzles, maximising every lap in the simulator, and capitalising on any on‑track time they can secure before the championship’s second half begins. Their message is clear: McLaren may be behind early, but the fight for the title is far from over, and they intend to push hard until the very end.