McLaren Three Months Behind F1 Title Rivals, Norris Says

Lando Norris admits McLaren are running months behind their main Formula One rivals, with Mercedes already clear in both championships and British Grand Prix preparations highlighting the gap, as Norris and Oscar Piastri chase their first wins of the 2026 season despite consistent points finishes.

The reigning champion has started 2026 without a victory, collecting two podiums so far and holding fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, while McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri sits fourth, one point ahead, as both drivers try to close a 143-point deficit to leaders Mercedes after eight races.

Mercedes have taken seven wins from the opening eight grands prix, leaving McLaren third in the Constructors’ Championship and Ferrari second, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar also applying pressure by finishing second and sixth respectively at the Austrian Grand Prix, where Norris placed seventh.

Last season, McLaren controlled the Drivers’ standings for long periods, with Piastri and Norris enjoying a sizeable cushion over Verstappen before the Red Bull driver cut the margin to just two points by the final round, a campaign that team principal Andrea Stella now views as a model for a late charge.

Norris believes the current McLaren car trails the development curve of rivals by “two, three months”, a delay Norris links to a slower start on upgrades, and Norris thinks the team require several substantial packages rather than a single change if they want to match Mercedes’ pace during the middle phase of the season.

“One good upgrade, no [is not enough], said Norris. We need three, four, five, but it depends. Sometimes you take one little piece at a time, sometimes you try and make something so everything goes together because it’s a new philosophy. We’re like two, three months behind. That’s not one upgrade; that’s a lot of bits. I don’t think we’re going to be quickest anytime soon but hopefully over the next three, four, five months we can catch up and we can narrow the gap to be on pace with them. We’re like three months behind and that’s a hard task to overcome but everyone in McLaren knows that we can achieve that and we’re excited to try and do it.”

Key positions after eight rounds underline the scale of McLaren’s task against Mercedes and Ferrari.

McLaren targets, Verstappen example and Mercedes chase

Andrea Stella references Verstappen’s 2025 pursuit as a benchmark for McLaren, noting how Red Bull stayed close enough to strike despite McLaren’s earlier advantage, and Stella suggests that a similar late-season surge is still possible if development gains arrive before Mercedes pull completely clear.

“The important point will be how far ahead will Mercedes be towards the end of the season,” said Stella. “If there’s another team catching up, will it still be early enough to actually catch up the points and for instance set a challenge like Verstappen set a challenge last year to us in the Drivers’ Championship? Ultimately this is what drives our motivation we want to be that team and we want to be that driver that sets a challenge to Mercedes and to the Mercedes drivers in the championship.”

Norris stresses that McLaren face a demanding recovery over the next few months yet remains confident in the group working at Woking, while Stella focuses on turning last year’s experience against Verstappen into a template for closing down Mercedes as the 2026 season progresses beyond the British Grand Prix.