Norris backs McLaren’s progress despite difficult 2026 season

Lando Norris has defended McLaren’s 2026 development progress ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, arguing that the team’s recovery from a difficult opening stretch makes the season a positive one overall. McLaren heads into the weekend level on points with Red Bull in the fight for third in the teams’ standings.

The reigning world champions began the campaign well off the pace under the new rules, with Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri both unable to start in China. Norris said the car had remained difficult to drive, while rival teams had made greater gains with their upgrades.

Norris points to the scale of McLaren’s recovery

McLaren’s season improved as it developed the car. Norris won in Hungary and the Netherlands, while a third victory in Madrid slipped away after a Virtual Safety Car arrived at an unfavourable moment.

Norris said the team had started roughly one to one-and-a-half seconds off the pace, making its subsequent results a substantial achievement. He credited McLaren with catching up effectively and said it had made more progress than most teams, even if its own high standards mean the season has not been without frustration.

Recent races have again exposed the car’s handling difficulties, and Norris acknowledged that McLaren has lost ground to rivals who have brought more performance to their packages. Still, he sees the wins and the recovery from the early deficit as evidence of the work completed so far.

Piastri expects a tough fight with Red Bull

McLaren’s immediate concern is holding on to third. Two recent victories for Max Verstappen have strengthened Red Bull’s challenge, and Piastri accepted that staying ahead will be difficult if Red Bull remains the more consistently competitive team.

Piastri said McLaren is still bringing performance to the car and believes there are developments that could help. He also pointed to reliability as a factor that could influence the remaining races, while stressing that the team needs to make further gains on outright pace.

With McLaren’s attention already turning towards 2027, the final stages of this season will test its ability to balance future priorities with the standings fight. The team’s planned late-season work also feeds into its approach to shaping next year’s car. Piastri remains determined to keep pushing, despite recognising the scale of the challenge from Red Bull. His concerns about the car’s longer-term development are also explored in our report on Piastri’s doubts over McLaren’s 2027 prospects.