Lando Norris has made it clear that he is not shutting the door on a comeback in the championship hunt, and he believes the weight of expectation now rests squarely on the shoulders of current points leader Kimi Antonelli. The British driver secured McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory of the season at the Hungarian round, delivering a performance that impressed fans and pundits alike. After the race, Norris found himself fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, 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 104 points behind the leader with ten races remaining and ultimately fell short by just two points, allowing Norris to clinch the title.
"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, underscoring his belief that the championship battle is far from over. Norris also addressed the broader competitive landscape, noting that Mercedes has been prone to more mistakes than McLaren this year, while his own team has been more consistent.
"They have made more mistakes as a team and we have made less and we have come strong but I expect them to still win races and expect us to win more races. We just need to be perfect from here on now for the whole year," he explained.
The McLaren driver emphasized the need for flawless execution in the remaining rounds if they are to challenge for the title. A key factor in McLaren’s recent surge has been a substantial upgrade package introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix, featuring a new floor that has given the car a noticeable boost in pace. This development has allowed the team to fight at the front of the grid more regularly, a stark contrast to earlier in the season when they were often mid‑pack. Team principal Andrea Stella reinforced this point, stating that the 2026 season has become a "race of upgrades" and that McLaren is now back in that race, striving to add tenths of a second to their lap times over the next eleven events.
"The car that will be the best at the end of the season will probably improve by half a second overall," Stella said, highlighting the massive amount of work still required from all teams. During the Hungarian race, Norris was initially held up by his teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap, despite having a clear speed advantage.
He eventually turned the situation to his benefit during the second pit‑stop window by staying out longer than Piastri and executing an overcut that saw him emerge ahead. Prior to that, Norris had indicated on the team radio that 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 results through overly aggressive tactics. "But I want to win, and I certainly had much better pace than him.
We had a much better chance of winning the race, let's say." He continued, describing the dynamics of the race when he was stuck behind Piastri while Max Verstappen trailed by three or four seconds. "Ahead, there was no threat, and we had a lot more of a guarantee that we'd win as a team anyway. So, I wanted to box and undercut because my pace would have been so good, I could have pulled away a whole pit‑stop window," Norris explained.
He emphasized that the decision to pit early was made in the best interest of the team, balancing the fine line between gaining an advantage and jeopardising both drivers' chances. Norris’s recent form suggests he may be matching, if not exceeding, his performance from the championship‑winning year. While he acknowledges that the cars are technically identical, he attributes his recent confidence to extensive work with his engineers and a deeper understanding of the car’s behavior at its limits. "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 said.
He credits hard work from both himself and his engineering team for the progress he has made. Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar resumes after the summer hiatus with a sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix, scheduled for 21‑23 August.
All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a long‑term contract. The Dutch sprint will provide an early test of the teams’ post‑break upgrades and could be a crucial indicator of who will be able to sustain the pace needed to challenge Antonelli’s lead.
In summary, Norris remains optimistic about his championship prospects, pointing to the psychological pressure now bearing down on Antonelli rather than himself. He stresses the importance of flawless execution, continuous development, and strategic racecraft as McLaren strives to close the points gap.
With a powerful upgrade package already delivering results, a confident driver, and a team committed to relentless improvement, the British driver believes a title fight is still within reach, provided the team can maintain consistency and avoid the mistakes that have plagued rivals this season.