Norris: McLaren ‘not at level we need’ but confident of turnaround

Lando Norris was denied the chance to race in Shanghai, but the reigning world champion departed China is far from defeated.

Instead, the McLaren driver is choosing optimism – grounded in realism – as he and his team confront a challenging start to the 2026 Formula 1 season.

After two rounds filled with frustration, missed opportunities, and mechanical setbacks, Norris is clear-eyed about where McLaren stands. Yet just as importantly, he’s equally clear about where they can go.

Learning the hard way

The Chinese Grand Prix weekend proved a painful reminder of how quickly momentum can stall in Formula 1. Norris had shown reasonably solid pace in qualifying, lining up sixth behind team-mate Oscar Piastri, only for an electrical issue to prevent him from even making the grid.

Moments before the race, Piastri was also withdrawn with a separate fault, capping a dramatic and disappointing double DNS for McLaren.

It left Norris stuck on just 15 points after two races – a far cry from the start he would have envisioned in his title defence. But rather than dwell on the misfortune, he pointed to the lessons gained.

“It’s still been a weekend where we’ve learned a lot. Already, since last weekend, we learned some things,” Norris told the media in Shanghai.

Still, the bigger picture is impossible to ignore. McLaren’s current package, both in terms of car performance and power unit understanding, isn’t yet capable of consistently fighting at the front.

“It’s also a weekend where we clarified that we need to do a better job with understanding the power unit still, and make some changes,” he added. “And we also understand the car is not to the level that it needs to be to fight for the podium or a win at the time being.

“We know we have a lot of work ahead, disregarding the issues that we had. The team knows where we stand and they are very realistic about everything, so they’re all working hard.

“They’ve been working hard all season, but especially now, they know what direction we need to work in, in order to get back to what we think we can achieve.”

Belief in the turnaround

If the opening races have exposed McLaren’s weaknesses, they have also strengthened Norris’ resolve. The Briton remains confident that the team has both the talent and the direction needed to turn things around.

“Absolutely,” he assured. “Every year is different so it’s never a guarantee but I have a lot of hope and faith in the team that we can turn things around from where we are.”

That belief is rooted not just in optimism, but in the knowledge that Formula 1 seasons are marathons, not sprints. With a packed calendar ahead, opportunities to recover—and improve—are plentiful.

“It’s still a very long season,” Norris noted. “After Japan we’ve got a good little break coming up, so that’s probably a good thing for us to try and figure out things and gives us a little bit more time to develop some things to see if we can get it on the car earlier.

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For Norris, the path forward is clear: refine, develop, and keep pushing.

“So as much as it’s not the start of the year we want, I have a lot of confidence in the team that we can still improve things and fight for podiums at some point and fight for wins maybe later in the season. I want to believe that. Tough start, but I have faith.”

There may be no quick fixes in Formula 1, but Norris’ outlook offers a glimpse of quiet confidence within McLaren. If belief counts for anything, team papaya’s season is far from defined.

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