"It hurts - but I will believe for as long as possible" - Lando Norris refuses to surrender F1 title
Updated: 18:58, 11 Jun
1 Comments
Kieran Lynch
Lando Norris refuses to give up hope that he can defend his Formula One drivers' championship, despite admitting that it has been an "incredibly hard" 2026 season so far for his McLaren team.
The 2025 champion is already 98 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the standings after his Monaco Grand Prix retirement meant he has now failed to finish in half of the opening six races of the current campaign. It marks a drastic change of fortune for the 26-year-old, who beat off competition from Max Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri to win his first championship last season.
With the points gap to Antonelli increasing rapidly, Norris insists that he will continue believing for as long as possible, as he looks to mark a return to form at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix this weekend.
Norris continues to believe despite McLaren's struggles
Speaking to the media including GPBlog on Thursday, Norris admitted that it "hurts" that he has not been able to finish on the top step of the podium, with mechanical issues creating an even bigger gap to him and Antonelli. However, he still believes that despite his troubles across the opening six races, he can still win the title, highlighting Miami and Canada as tracks where his McLaren was competitive.
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"I still believe that we can win. We should have won in Miami, we could have won a race this year on pure pace, we could have deserved it. So there's plenty of hope, I think it's just the DNFS that we have had, the unreliability that is hurting us the most. Monaco was difficult because we struggled with pace there anyway, but I don't the the title is impossible.
Photo: Race Pictures
"I will still believe for as long as possible that it is possible. I still believe as a team we can turn things around and make progress. But we are also up against a team and a driver (Kimi Antonelli) that is doing an unbelievable job. It's hard to have a lot of confidence when you are up against someone like that. But what gives us confidence is Miami and Canada we have had two decent weekends on pace, we had one podium we could have had a second. So the hunger and belief is still there. We need to believe that it is possible."
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Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 12.06.26
Practice 1
11:30 AM
Practice 2
03:00 PM
Saturday 13.06.26
Practice 3
10:30 AM
Qualification
02:00 PM
Sunday 14.06.26
Race
01:00 PM
Friday 12.06.26
Practice 1
Fri 11:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 03:00 PM
Saturday 13.06.26
Practice 3
Sat 10:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 02:00 PM
Sunday 14.06.26
Race
Sun 01:00 PM
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 156 | |
2 | FerrariFER | 90 | |
3 | MercedesMER | 88 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 75 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 60 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 58 | |
7 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 43 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 29 | |
9 | Racing BullsRCB | 26 | |
10 | AlpineALP | 26 |
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