Oct.28 (GMM) Lando Norris has admitted his first season as reigning world champion has not gone particularly well, with both he and Max Verstappen now mathematically out of the 2026 title fight.
Speaking casually on a stream this week, Norris was characteristically dry about it.
“It wasn’t the best defence of a championship in my career, but not much you can do in Formula 1, I’m afraid,” said the McLaren driver.
“People care too much about history. I did a good job.”
McLaren’s bigger problem is that the car has become increasingly difficult to drive as rivals have developed more effectively.
Norris now accepts McLaren is effectively the fourth-fastest team.
“Yes, I think that’s pretty clear,” said the Briton.
He said the latest upgrades are working, but not enough in the areas where the car is weakest.
“In slow corners, we’re completely below par,” said Norris.
“We need to improve a lot more, especially in terms of the rear end and low-speed handling. This has been an issue for us for a long time.”
Oscar Piastri has also spoken repeatedly about how difficult the McLaren has become to extract consistent performance from.
Norris nevertheless felt fifth in Austin was about the maximum available.
“I think I got everything out of it, so I’m happy, even if fifth place doesn’t sound fantastic.”