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 Mercedes and Ferrari have enjoyed a stronger start to the new era, the British driver believes the team’s upcoming development window offers a genuine chance to reverse the early‑season deficit. Norris, the defending champion, has not yet stood on the podium in any of the first three rounds of his title defence. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, managed a second‑place finish in Japan and might have taken the win if a safety‑car interruption had not curtailed McLaren’s surge during the race.
That brief flash of competitiveness highlighted the potential that the team possesses, but also underscored the reliability hiccups that have plagued both the chassis and the Mercedes power unit. With the sport now on an almost five‑week hiatus for the mandatory April break, every team – including McLaren – has been back at its headquarters, dissecting data, refining aerodynamics, and addressing the mechanical gremlins that have hampered performance. Norris is confident that this period of intensive work will translate into tangible gains when the championship resumes in roughly two weeks.
"I think we can have a good 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. "And although we haven't started the season where we want to be, we still want to push hard for the championship.
This isn’t a case of giving up and focusing on next year – I’m not sure that approach ever really works." He pointed to several historical examples where teams have overcome a sluggish opening and finished the year much stronger. "There are plenty of examples where we weren’t where we wanted to be at the start of the year, but we ended up in a far better position by the end – 2023, 2024, and so on. We’re a stronger team now than we were then." Norris stressed that McLaren has already been through a similar learning curve, emerged wiser, and is ready to repeat the process. "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. In addition to the broader strategic outlook, Norris highlighted specific technical priorities.
The reliability issues that have affected both the McLaren chassis and its Mercedes power unit must be eradicated if the team hopes to contest for victories on a regular basis. "We’re not in a terrible position, but we definitely have to work to get back in contention for wins, and even then we need to keep pushing to make sure we have a car capable of winning every single weekend," he explained.
He also noted that limited track time has hampered the team’s ability to extract maximum performance. Early in the season, the lack of a practice session at the Chinese Grand Prix and insufficient running in Japan meant the engineers missed valuable data windows. "Tiny, tiny margins make significant differences. Combine that with the fact that we didn’t start the Grand Prix in China, and that we didn’t get enough track time during practice in Japan, and it’s easy to see where we’re lacking," Norris said.
To compensate, McLaren is exploiting the gap between Japan and Miami by intensifying simulation work and conducting a tyre‑test at the Nürburgring. While the test primarily focused on next year’s tyre selections, Norris believes any time behind the wheel is beneficial. "We’re putting a lot of time in on the sim, and we were back behind the wheel for a tyre test at the Nürburgring.
Even though the test was focused on next year’s tyres, time behind the wheel never hurts," he remarked. Piastri echoed his teammate’s optimism, asserting that the team can climb back to the front of the grid over the remaining nineteen 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," the Australian driver said. He also reflected on the team’s past ability to turn fortunes around, noting that McLaren is entering the second half of the season from a stronger baseline than in previous years.
"This team has proven how we’re able to turn things around, and we’re starting in a stronger position than we have in previous examples, such as 2024. I have complete trust that the team will do everything they can to get us there and I am genuinely excited to see what we can achieve," Piastri added. The upcoming Miami Grand Prix, scheduled for May 1‑3, will be the season’s second Sprint weekend and a crucial early test of McLaren’s progress. Sky Sports F1 will broadcast the event live, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a contract.
As the paddock returns to action, all eyes will be on how effectively McLaren can translate its off‑track development into on‑track results, and whether Norris and Piastri can convert their renewed confidence into podium finishes and, ultimately, a realistic shot at the championship title.