Norris insists McLaren will push for 2026 F1 title
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- Norris trails Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli by 47 points in the early 2026 standings and has not finished on the podium in the first three races of his title defence, finishing fifth in both Australia and Japan.
- Piastri finished second at the Japanese Grand Prix and could have potentially won had it not been for the appearance of a Safety Car during an improved McLaren showing.
- McLaren has been hampered by reliability issues and Mercedes power unit problems, and the team missed the Chinese Grand Prix start and lost practice time in Japan.
- McLaren is using the near-five-week gap between Japan and Miami for factory work, sim running and a Nurburgring tyre test to close its understanding deficit on the new power unit.
- Norris pointed to McLaren's 2023 and 2024 seasons as evidence the team has recovered from slow starts before, saying 'this isn't a case of giving up and focusing on next year.'
- Piastri said closing the gap to Mercedes and out-developing the field 'is within our control' and that the team is starting from a stronger base than during previous slow starts such as 2024.
- Formula 1 returns May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the season's second Sprint weekend, with 19 races still to run.
Why it matters: With 19 races left and a 47-point deficit to Mercedes' Antonelli, McLaren's title defence hinges on translating their five-week factory and sim push into immediate pace gains. Resolving the Mercedes power unit reliability issues that have cost them track time is the single biggest lever for closing the gap before the season's European leg.
