Lando Norris doubts McLaren’s title credentials as George Russell targets Kimi Antonelli

Lando Norris has admitted that he does not believe his McLaren is currently strong enough to deliver a successful defence of his world championship, instead identifying George Russell as the driver best placed to challenge Kimi Antonelli this season.

“[Russell] is 30 points ahead of me,” Norris told media on Thursday in Madrid. “So George, I think, is still the one who has the best chance of trying to take the challenge to Kimi. Hamilton is still many points ahead of me as well.”

McLaren’s track-by-track limitation exposed

Norris pointed to McLaren’s Monza result as evidence that the car lacks consistent performance across all circuit types. He and Oscar Piastri finished fourth and fifth, a result that contrasted with the team’s recent run of two consecutive wins.

“We have two wins in a row, so the car is good in some places,” Norris said. “It’s just, like I said, not as good as it needs to be everywhere. And the only person that has a car that’s the same as Kimi is George. So I wish George the best in trying to fight Kimi.”

That uncertainty will be tested immediately at the new Madring circuit, which is hosting a Formula 1 race for the first time. Our Madring guide provides a closer look at the Madrid venue, but the drivers themselves will only discover its real demands once practice begins.

Norris compared the layout with Jeddah and said its combination of uphill, downhill, cambered and off-camber corners looked particularly challenging. He added that the circuit took only three or four simulator laps to understand at a basic level, while stressing that the real-world sense of speed would be different.

“The whole track looks pretty exciting,” Norris said. “It’s always different when you get on track and actually feel everything. The sense of speed is quite a big difference compared to a simulator.”

Piastri also expects a demanding weekend, highlighting the high-speed corners, heavy consequences of mistakes, banking, kerbs and the compromise required from the car across the varied layout.