Defending world champion Lando Norris admits that McLaren approached the 2026 season from a position of weakness. The Woking team is now asking for more support from Mercedes to catch up.
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The launch of the 2026 F1 season was not as smooth as expected for Lando Norris and the McLaren team. During the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, the British team found itself struggling against the dominance of Mercedes.
The German outfit struck hard from the championship opener by achieving an impressive one-two finish in Melbourne, led by George Russell. A performance that immediately widened the gap with several of the German manufacturer’s customer teams.
On the McLaren side, but also at Williams and Alpine, performances seemed to be lagging. This difference in level quickly raised questions in the paddock, with some team officials mentioning a lack of preparation when entering this new technical era.
Norris asks for more preparation from Mercedes
Faced with this situation, Norris admits that McLaren would have liked to be better armed from the first race. The team has therefore requested more support from its engine supplier to better anticipate certain technical aspects. However, the British driver insists on the close relationship that has united McLaren and Mercedes for several years.
“We have worked very closely together and they helped us win the last two championships,” explains Norris. “At the start of the season, there are a lot of things to understand and some information is not necessarily shared immediately.”
In an environment as competitive as Formula 1, each team naturally seeks to preserve its own technical advantages.
A delay in the arrival of the new engine
According to Norris, one of the elements that put McLaren in difficulty was the later access to the latest version of the Mercedes power unit.
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“The fact that we didn’t have the new power unit earlier meant that we were inevitably going to start with a disadvantage.”
This situation forced the Woking team to learn and understand certain characteristics of the car as the race weekend progressed. In a sport where preparation is essential, this type of delay can quickly prove costly.
“When you discover certain things along the way, it’s already too late in Formula 1,” Norris emphasizes.
McLaren must catch up
Despite these initial difficulties, Norris is keen to point out that McLaren is receiving all the necessary support from Mercedes. The driver insists that it is not a cooperation issue.
“I think we are getting everything we need. We were catching up during the first race, instead of arriving and saying everything was perfectly ready.”
For McLaren, the priority is now to close this gap as quickly as possible. The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix weekend, held at the Shanghai circuit, already represents a new opportunity to progress. The team hopes that the lessons learned from the first race weekend will allow for improved performance of the car in the upcoming rounds.
In such a long and competitive championship, Norris remains convinced that McLaren can still get back into the battle. But one thing is clear: the Woking team must quickly return to the level of preparation that allowed it to clinch titles in recent seasons.
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