Lando Norris has made it clear that he is not dismissing the possibility of mounting a serious challenge for the championship this season, and he believes the burden of expectation now rests squarely on the shoulders of current points leader Kimi Antonelli. Norris celebrated McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory of the year at the Hungarian round, a win that highlighted both his own confidence and the team’s growing competitiveness.
Despite the triumph, he remains fifth in the drivers’ standings, trailing Antonelli by 91 points with eleven races still to contest. The situation mirrors 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 a mere two points as Norris clinched the title. Drawing on that memory, Norris underscored how the pressure dynamic has shifted. "The pressure is on him [Antonelli] for sure.
There's no pressure on me. I've been feeling very confident," he told Sky Sports F1, emphasizing his own relaxed mindset while acknowledging the weight Antonelli now carries.
Norris also commented on the broader competitive landscape, particularly the performance of Mercedes. "They have made more mistakes as a team and we have made fewer, and we have come strong, but I still expect them to win races and expect us to win more races. We just need to be perfect from here on for the whole year," he said. The British driver stressed that perfection will be essential if McLaren hopes to keep pace with the traditional front‑runners.
A key factor in McLaren’s recent surge has been a major aerodynamic upgrade introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix, featuring a brand‑new floor that has injected a noticeable amount of pace into the car. Norris praised the package, noting that the team was the fastest on the grid from qualifying through to the race. However, he cautioned that not every circuit will be as forgiving. "We need to improve the car still.
We were certainly the quickest in Hungary, but not every race is going to be this simple. We have to work hard to get the car to be this good everywhere," he explained, hinting at the ongoing development race that will continue throughout the remainder of the season. Team principal Andrea Stella echoed the sentiment, reminding everyone that the 2026 season has become a relentless series of upgrades. "McLaren is back in this race of upgrades, fighting for the lead, but the car that ends the season as the best will have added tenths of a second over the next eleven races – possibly as much as half a second.
So there is a lot of work ahead for everyone, not just McLaren," Stella said, underscoring the technical arms race that defines modern Formula 1. The Hungarian victory itself was not without drama.
Norris was initially held up by teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap, despite clearly having a speed advantage. After being stuck behind Piastri, Norris chose a strategic overcut during the second pit‑stop window, staying out longer and ultimately emerging ahead of the Australian. Prior to that move, Norris had communicated to his engineers that he felt "miles faster" and wanted to pit first. "I just want to win the race.
There are team rules that prevent us from harming each other's chances by being overly aggressive," he said in the post‑race press conference. "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 elaborated on the tactical nuance of the pit‑stop decision, noting that when he was trapped behind Piastri, Antonelli was still a few seconds behind, posing a potential threat.
"Ahead there was no threat, and we had a guarantee that we'd win as a team anyway," Norris added. "I wanted to box and undercut because my pace would have allowed me to pull away a whole pit‑stop window. The fine line was between boxing too early and harming both of our races." Norris’s recent performances suggest he has regained the form that saw him become world champion last year. While he acknowledges that his pace advantage in Hungary was striking, he attributes it to a combination of hard work, improved engineering support, and a deeper understanding of the car’s nuances.
"The cars are identical, and I've just been feeling very strong lately. I've worked on many areas from last year," he said. "I feel much more confident now in extracting performance, and I've collaborated closely with my engineers to understand this car because it’s certainly not an easy machine to master consistently at the limit." He summed up the reason for his progress as simple diligence: "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 championship will resume after the summer hiatus with a sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21‑23. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a long‑term contract.
The upcoming sprint format adds another layer of strategy, and Norris appears ready to seize any opportunity to close the points gap, while keeping an eye on Antonelli, who now carries the weight of expectation as the championship leader.