Lando Norris became only the second driver to score back-to-back Formula 1 victories this season with his Dutch Grand Prix success, but the reigning champion remains unconvinced of his 2026 title chances.

After the 12th round of the F1 season, Norris now sits 83 points behind championship-leader Kimi Antonelli. In previous years, this margin would have been widely viewed as too great to overturn, but in a season that has seen results shift with each upgrade brought by a team, there are few who would openly write off the Briton’s chances.

But despite victories in Hungary and Zandvoort, Norris is not convinced that McLaren has the complete package needed to consistently topple his Mercedes rival in the closing rounds. 

“I’m confident because we clearly have a strong car,” he said. “We have a strong car in certain areas. It’s not like last year where we were pretty good everywhere.

“We’re very, very strong in high speed, and that’s the place we’ve improved the car the most, is high-speed performance. No one matches us in high speed, and that’s a good thing.

“My pace advantage to Mercedes in Turn Seven, Eight was crazy, but their advantage that they have to us in slow speed is also crazy.

“And therefore, I don’t have the confidence to say, ‘Yeah, I can easily fight for a championship for the rest of the season.’

“I know I’ve just won two races in a row and had two poles in a row, but at the minute I don’t have the car I need to fight for a championship. And I know that’s quite a big comment.”

Developments have played a larger than usual role this term as the championship is racing to an all-new set of aerodynamic and power unit regulations, meaning that teams started designs for the current cars with an effective blank sheet of paper. 

As teams switched focus to 2026 last term, Red Bull highlighted the power of continued upgrades, as Max Verstappen came close to overturning a 104-point margin to Norris – the gap just two points by the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi. 

“I was driving at a high level the second half of last year,” added Norris. 

“It’s tough to say, but I do think it’s a trickier car to drive this year in some ways. And I think you can see that because the gaps between team-mates are often bigger this year, I would say, than it was last year.

“I do believe I’m able to understand situations better, to understand the car in a better way. It’s still just horrible to drive, but I’m doing a better job at just understanding this, relaying this to my team, figuring stuff out.

“So, it’s not just that I’m driving better on track. I’m certainly eliminating my weaknesses on track, and I don’t have so many, but it’s also how I work off the track. And for me, yesterday to today is a perfect example of the work we put in overnight transformed our race and gave me the opportunity to win.”

Lando Norris became only the second driver to score back-to-back Formula 1 victories this season with his Dutch Grand Prix success, but the reigning champion remains unconvinced of his 2026 title chances.

After the 12th round of the F1 season, Norris now sits 83 points behind championship-leader Kimi Antonelli. In previous years, this margin would have been widely viewed as too great to overturn, but in a season that has seen results shift with each upgrade brought by a team, there are few who would openly write off the Briton’s chances.

But despite victories in Hungary and Zandvoort, Norris is not convinced that McLaren has the complete package needed to consistently topple his Mercedes rival in the closing rounds. 

“I’m confident because we clearly have a strong car,” he said. “We have a strong car in certain areas. It’s not like last year where we were pretty good everywhere.

“We’re very, very strong in high speed, and that’s the place we’ve improved the car the most, is high-speed performance. No one matches us in high speed, and that’s a good thing.

“My pace advantage to Mercedes in Turn Seven, Eight was crazy, but their advantage that they have to us in slow speed is also crazy.

“And therefore, I don’t have the confidence to say, ‘Yeah, I can easily fight for a championship for the rest of the season.’

“I know I’ve just won two races in a row and had two poles in a row, but at the minute I don’t have the car I need to fight for a championship. And I know that’s quite a big comment.”

Developments have played a larger than usual role this term as the championship is racing to an all-new set of aerodynamic and power unit regulations, meaning that teams started designs for the current cars with an effective blank sheet of paper. 

As teams switched focus to 2026 last term, Red Bull highlighted the power of continued upgrades, as Max Verstappen came close to overturning a 104-point margin to Norris – the gap just two points by the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi. 

“I was driving at a high level the second half of last year,” added Norris. 

“It’s tough to say, but I do think it’s a trickier car to drive this year in some ways. And I think you can see that because the gaps between team-mates are often bigger this year, I would say, than it was last year.

“I do believe I’m able to understand situations better, to understand the car in a better way. It’s still just horrible to drive, but I’m doing a better job at just understanding this, relaying this to my team, figuring stuff out.

“So, it’s not just that I’m driving better on track. I’m certainly eliminating my weaknesses on track, and I don’t have so many, but it’s also how I work off the track. And for me, yesterday to today is a perfect example of the work we put in overnight transformed our race and gave me the opportunity to win.”