Norris’ painful conclusion: 'I accepted that we're not going to win any races'

After two seasons in which McLaren had the best car on the grid and was often waved off as the winner, everything is now different for Norris. In a year so far dominated by Mercedes and Ferrari, only crumbs remain for the reigning world champion.

Of course, the season is still long and optimised car updates can turn the F1 world completely upside down. Such changes were made by McLaren in Montreal and the team made an immediate step forward. However, the competition didn’t stand still either. Mercedes were put under pressure but ultimately the Silver Arrows proved stronger, despite the McLaren upgrade.

Norris was asked if winning regularly with McLaren was on the cards this season. "I would love to win more races and it's the best feeling in the world, but I think quite early on in the season I accepted that we're not going to win any races anytime soon," Norris says in response to a question from GPblog in Spielberg.

Norris himself came close to victory in Miami, while teammate Oscar Piastri had the sniff of a win in Japan. That would have been “a nice surprise,” according to the current champion, who says he doesn’t find it difficult that he can rarely fight for the win: "I think you just have to readjust quite quickly, and I think that's what we've done as a team."

But it was ‘only’ a third place. A year ago that would have felt like a defeat: "That's our new expectation that we have to set," he says. "So it's all relative at the end of the day, and until that time comes we can actually win a proper race. Then you have to take it just one step at a time and maximise your own effort."

McLaren has signaled it views Leonardo Fornaroli as a future F1 prospect and is open to loaning its reserve driver for experience rather than releasing him outright, a departure from its past approach with Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber/Audi.

Haas confirmed the reigning Formula 2 champion impressed in a recent Test of a Previous Car, with team principal Ayao Komatsu noting the program’s focus on giving young drivers opportunities.

While Fornaroli is a candidate to replace Esteban Ocon in 2027, Haas is also evaluating other talents, including Rafael Camara. Read more