Despite back-to-back victories from Lando Norris in Hungary and the Netherlands, McLaren still does not have enough of a package to go after the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship, Norris admits.

British driver commended in Zandvoort for second successive 2026 Dutch GP victory and a near-miss at the fastest lap, reducing Kimi Antonelli’s championship advantage But Norris is wary of McLaren’s title hopes, insisting there’s still plenty the team needs to iron out with its current car.

Norris dominates at Zandvoort

Norris provided one of the best drives of his 2023 season at Zandvoort during its final Dutch Grand Prix. A winner in Hungary last month, the McLaren driver won again at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

His victory followed a challenging start to the race but Norris fought back superbly and eventually passed Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli on track. He paced on the hard tyres through his second stint, and that was instrumental in him taking control of the race to take another vital win.

The outcome has sparked a renewed sense of title challenge potential for Norris, though he accepts McLaren are still some way off.

Norris said: “I don’t have a championship car right now.

Norris won both the recent races and took pole position in each of the two previous events, but believes even with that McLaren remains some way shy of being as competitive as he would hope at any style of circuit.

McLaren strong in high-speed corners

Norris further stated that McLaren has made big progress in high-speed performance. Norris thinks McLaren is now the benchmark in fast corners, with significant improvements coming from the team’s latest upgrades.

The performance advantage Mercedes saw in the high speed sections of Zandvoort was pointed out by him.

But the largest worry is the car’s performance in slow speed corner.

With Mercedes having a considerable advantage over McLaren in the slower sections right now, its this major deficiency onwards going to be an even bigger handicap as we edge closer to races that could favour one team more than the other.

The long straights and more featureless quarters of Monza and Azerbaijan should shine a light on McLaren’s weaknesses, Norris explained.

A McLaren has higher drag which could similarly hurt a straight-line performance advantage for Mercedes.

GAP IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP STILL A BRIDGE TOO FAR

Although Norris’ Zandvoort triumph has taken some of the heat off McLaren, he is still 83 points adrift of championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Mercedes’ George Russell, who took pole position for the race, is equal on points with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton; McLaren remain third in the constructors’ championship; 162 ponts behind Mercedes.

There are also several races to go before the title is decided too. But Norris is aware that if McLaren wants a repeat of the sort of fightback Max Verstappen staged last season, it needs to keep churning more development out.

We all know the story of how Verstappen closed a gigantic points deficit during the second half of 2021 and when he crossed the line in Abu Dhabi, Norris was left just two points shy of a championship win.

Norris feels he is driving better than ever

Norris additionally thinks his own development as a driver in recent months has been an important factor in his improved results.

However, Norris also acknowledged the new McLaren was more challenging to drive in certain conditions, but he has since improved his interpretation of the car and how to effectively relay issues to his engineers.

He insists that his incremental improvement goes beyond what he does in race. The work he is doing away from the track, particularly in terms of developing his understanding of tyre behaviour and car setup has been better too.

This was perfectly illustrated just last weekend at Zandvoort. No less than changing the car overnight to make it raceable and allowing Norris to put himself in contention for a win.

Andrea Stella praises Norris

“At this stage, in my opinion, Lando drives as a world champion,” said Stella.

Stella also praised the British driver’s consistency in improving race by race, particularly in challenging conditions.

Norris, she said with particularly impressive when grip was low and the car began to slide. One of his core strengths has become the ability to read these conditions and glean every last bit of performance from them.

Sounding equally relieved, said that the continued development process of the team has helped Norris also grow.

Mercedes under pressure

Is Mercedes’ Development Over the Hill as McLaren Bounces Back?

It comes as the German manufacturer’s last major upgrade was at the Canadian Grand Prix back in May, giving McLaren and Ferrari a chance to close some of that performance deficit.

The calm in McLaren made itself through Kimi Antonelli, who fully accepted that they made a big leap forward and continued to point the finger at Mercedes, saying “Mercedes now have to search for more performance”.

Antonelli is also in the block for a grid penalty at his home Italian Grand Prix, needing to run an additional engine beyond his permitted allocation after reliability issues early on.

Norris can still win the 2026 F1 title

Norris will not be looking too far ahead.

The McLaren driver is aware that two wins on the trot have transformed his season but knows how much the title fight will be judged on car performance at different venues.

His philosophy is simple: one race at a time.

For Norris to close the 83-point gap down to Antonelli, McLaren have also got to work on their slow-speed performance weaknesses and keep improving on car development.

That means the next handful of races could be pivotal. Norris’ title hopes would suddenly become a lot more tangible if McLaren can address its deficiencies at tracks like Monza and Azerbaijan.

For now, though the British driver is taking a more prudent approach.

Lando Norris is back in the conversation with two wins, but McLaren – along with its erstwhile driver called Oscar Piastri – are going to need a more complete car before he can make a solid claim to being anything close to a bona fide 2026 Formula 1 title threat.

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It looks very much like a McLaren F1 title fight is underway in 2026 with Lando Norris as its leading light.

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McLaren is not yet able to fight for the 2026 Formula 1 championship with a complete car, though Lando Norris claims.