Lando Norris has made it clear that he is not closing the door on a genuine bid for the championship, even though the current points leader, Kimi Antonelli, holds a substantial advantage. The British driver celebrated McLaren's first Grand Prix victory of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, a win that showcased both his skill and the team's progress.
After the race, Norris found himself sitting fifth in the drivers' standings, trailing Antonelli by 91 points with eleven races still to run. The situation echoes the dramatic finale of the previous season, when Max Verstappen found himself more than a hundred points behind the leader with ten rounds left and ultimately fell short by just two points, handing the title to Norris. "The pressure is on him [Antonelli] for sure. There's no pressure on me.
I've been feeling very confident," Norris told Sky Sports F1, underlining his belief that the champion’s burden is growing while his own mindset remains steady. Norris also highlighted the comparative performance of the two leading teams. "Mercedes have made more mistakes as a team and we have made fewer," he said, adding that McLaren expects to win more races but must maintain a high level of consistency. "We need to be perfect from here on for the whole year," he emphasized, acknowledging that the Hungarian win was a perfect example of the car’s potential but also warning that not every circuit will be as straightforward.
The McLaren team introduced a major aerodynamic upgrade for the Hungarian round, most notably a new floor, which injected a sizeable amount of pace into the car. This development has allowed the team to compete at the front of the grid more regularly, a stark contrast to earlier in the season when they were often stuck in the midfield. Team principal Andrea Stella reinforced the message that development will continue unabated after the summer hiatus. "This season has become a race of upgrades.
The good news is McLaren is back in that race, fighting for the lead," he explained, noting that the car that finishes the year as the fastest will likely have added tenths of a second each race, potentially accumulating as much as half a second over the remaining eleven events. Norris’ performance in Hungary also illustrated his strategic acumen. He fell behind his teammate Oscar Piastri at the start of the race, despite having demonstrably higher pace. By extending his stint during the second pit‑stop window, Norris managed to overcut Piastri, turning a difficult start into a strategic victory.
He recalled his radio communication, where he insisted he was "miles faster" and wanted to pit first. "I just want to win the race," he said in the post‑race press conference, acknowledging the team’s internal rules designed to prevent drivers from compromising each other's chances through overly aggressive tactics. "I had a much better chance of winning the race, let's say," he added, describing how he balanced personal ambition with the broader team objective. When asked about his decision to undercut Piastri, Norris explained that his pace advantage allowed him to potentially open a whole pit‑stop window on his teammate.
"We were on the fine line between boxing too early and harming both of our races," he said, underscoring the delicate calculus that drivers and engineers must perform in real time. The British driver emphasized that the move was ultimately in the team's best interest, even if it meant deviating from the usual protocol. Beyond the Hungarian weekend, Norris has generally held the upper hand over Piastri in recent races, prompting many observers to compare his current form with the championship‑winning season of 2025. He admitted he is still trying to pinpoint why his advantage was so pronounced in Hungary, but he remains optimistic that the feeling will persist after the summer break.
"The cars are identical, and I've just been feeling very strong lately. I've worked on many areas from last year," he said, highlighting the collaborative effort with his engineering crew.
Norris credited hard work—both his own and that of his engineers—for the recent improvements. "I feel much more confident lately with how to extract performance, and I've worked a lot with my engineers to understand this car because it's certainly not an easy car to understand and figure out how to drive on the limit consistently," he explained.
He summed up his approach succinctly: "Just hard work. Hard work from my engineers and from myself to improve me as a driver and improve my driving.
That is the answer." Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar resumes after the summer break with a sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21 to 23. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a long‑term contract. Norris and McLaren will aim to build on the momentum generated in Hungary, hoping that continued upgrades and strategic brilliance can close the gap to Antonelli and keep the championship battle alive deep into the final stages of the season.