Revived by two consecutive wins, Lando Norris still believes in the title despite being 83 points behind Kimi Antonelli. And he knows how quickly everything can change.
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Lando Norris certainly has not forgotten the 2025 season. While he seemed destined to fight for the title with his teammate Oscar Piastri, several errors from McLaren had completely revived Max Verstappen in the championship race.
The Briton eventually won his first world title with only a two-point lead over the Red Bull driver. An experience that now allows him to know that no advantage is truly comfortable as long as mathematically, everything remains possible.
The situation has reversed this season. Norris is now the hunter, while Kimi Antonelli holds a comfortable lead in the championship. But after two consecutive wins behind the wheel of a McLaren transformed by its latest upgrades, the reigning world champion refuses to give up.
Norris knows better than anyone how everything can turn around
Last season offered a particularly spectacular scenario. Norris and Piastri initially seemed set to settle the title between themselves before several McLaren errors allowed Verstappen to come back into the battle.
In Las Vegas, both Woking cars were notably disqualified due to excessive wear on their floor.
Then, during the penultimate round in Qatar, McLaren made a major strategic error. While Pirelli imposed stints of a maximum of 25 laps, the team chose not to pit its drivers on the seventh lap contrary to the majority of the field.
This decision completely shifted Norris and Piastri strategically. The latter finished second while Norris could do no better than fourth, allowing Verstappen to stay in the title fight until the finale.
A warning tinged with irony for Mercedes
Asked about the possibility of replicating against Antonelli the spectacular comeback Verstappen made against him last year, Norris preferred to use irony.
“Obviously, we were on the wrong side of that situation last year, but there’s no point in thinking about it,” he explains.
The McLaren driver then allowed himself a little jab at Mercedes by recalling the two huge mistakes that nearly cost his team the championship.
“Honestly, I don’t care what I’ll do next weekend or the one after. It’s nice to know it’s possible and, obviously, I hope both Mercedes cars get disqualified in Las Vegas like we did and that they decide not to stop in Qatar even though a free stop is offered to them.”
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“As long as they make the same mistakes, it will probably be just as easy,” he jokes.
A humorous remark, but which also contains a warning: in Formula 1, a big lead can disappear very quickly.
83 points to make up on Antonelli
Norris still faces a particularly difficult situation. Antonelli currently leads the championship with 242 points, against 183 for George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
With 159 points, Norris is still 83 points behind the young Italian.
But the recent momentum is in McLaren’s favor. The major upgrades brought to the MCL40 have allowed the Briton to win consecutively the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix, making the Woking team the new benchmark of the moment.
However, Norris prefers to avoid calculating the different scenarios that could allow him to close the gap.
“Every year is different. For my part, we are still trying to catch up in some areas, but for now, I manage to get everything I can from the car and that’s all I can be satisfied with.”
Norris still believes in the title
The task remains immense, but the reigning world champion refuses to consider the championship already decided.
“I’m happy. There’s still a lot of ground to cover. I’m optimistic, I still believe it’s possible and that’s all I need for now.”
The experience of 2025 at least gives him a good reason to believe. McLaren then seemed to control the situation before two difficult weekends allowed Verstappen to turn an internal fight between Norris and Piastri into a three-way battle for the championship.
Norris eventually saved his title by only two points.
This time, the Briton hopes to be the one who benefits from his rival’s mistakes. And his message to Mercedes is clear: with many races still to come, Antonelli’s 83-point lead over Norris is no guarantee.
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