Lando Norris remains confident that McLaren can still mount a serious challenge for the world championship once the Formula One calendar picks back up after the Miami Grand Prix. Even though the early part of the season has seen Mercedes and Ferrari pull ahead with stronger starts, Norris believes the British driver’s team has enough work to do and enough potential to turn the tide. The reigning champion has endured a frustrating opening stretch, failing to reach the podium in any of the first three rounds of his title defence.
His teammate Oscar Piastri, however, managed a second‑place finish in Japan and even looked poised for a win before a safety‑car interruption halted McLaren’s momentum. That incident highlighted both the promise and the pitfalls that have characterised the team’s recent performance. Now, with the mandatory April hiatus drawing to a close, McLaren – like every other outfit – will have roughly five weeks of intensive development time back at its headquarters. Norris argues that this window offers a valuable opportunity to address the car’s shortcomings, refine the power unit integration, and rebuild confidence ahead of the next race weekend, which is only two weeks away.
"I think we can still have a strong season, even if we’re not where we want to be right now," Norris said, acknowledging the 47‑point gap to Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who currently leads the drivers’ standings. "We haven’t started the year the way we hoped, but that doesn’t mean we abandon the fight for the championship.
Giving up and looking only to next year never works for a team of our calibre." He pointed to several historical examples where teams have recovered from a poor start to finish the campaign in a much stronger position – citing McLaren’s own progress in 2023 and 2024 as evidence that the organisation has learned how to adapt and improve under pressure. "We’ve been there, we’ve done it, we’ve learned from it, and I trust that we can repeat the process," Norris added. "There’s a lot of hard work ahead, but we’re ready for it." The British driver also highlighted reliability as a key area that needs immediate attention. Both the McLaren chassis and the Mercedes‑supplied power unit have suffered from occasional gremlins, which have cost valuable points.
"We’re not in a terrible position, but we must fix those reliability issues if we want to fight for wins again," he explained. "And even when we have a winning‑capable car, we need to keep pushing every weekend to ensure we can compete for victory on any circuit." Norris stressed the importance of track time for both driver development and data collection. "Early on we realised that getting laps in the car is crucial for learning how to extract the maximum from the power unit and the aerodynamics," he said. "Tiny margins make a huge difference.
Missing the Chinese Grand Prix and having limited practice in Japan left us with a knowledge gap that we need to close quickly." To bridge that gap, McLaren is making the most of the break between Japan and Miami. The team has intensified its simulation work, running countless virtual laps to refine setup concepts and tyre strategies. Additionally, they returned to the Nürburgring for a tyre‑testing programme aimed at next season’s rubber, but the extra seat time also offered drivers a chance to reacquaint themselves with the car’s feel and handling characteristics.
"Even if the test was primarily about future tyres, any time behind the wheel helps," Norris noted. Piastri echoed his teammate’s optimism, emphasizing that the team’s ability to close the performance deficit to Mercedes lies within their control. "We have a lot of work to do to be consistently at the front, but narrowing the gap and out‑developing the rest of the field is something we can achieve," the Australian said. "We’ve shown we can turn things around, and we’re starting from a stronger position than we have in previous years, such as 2024." He added, "I have complete faith that the team will do everything possible to get us there, and I’m genuinely excited to see what we can accomplish together." Looking ahead, the Formula One calendar resumes on May 1‑3 with the Miami Grand Prix, which will also host the season’s second Sprint race.
Sky Sports F1 will broadcast the event live, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a long‑term contract. The next few weeks will be crucial for McLaren as they aim to translate the extra development time into tangible performance gains, hoping to re‑establish themselves as regular podium contenders and, ultimately, as serious challengers for the constructors’ title as the season progresses toward its final nineteen races.