Norris issues striking McLaren message amid difficult start to season

Speaking to the media ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, the reigning world champion was asked about McLaren’s chances of rebounding from early-season struggles to challenge for championships.

Norris drew parallels with the hurdles the team faced en route to their 2024 campaign, which culminated in a Constructors’ Championship, and expressed belief that McLaren can achieve similar success this season.

“I don’t know. I can’t remember how many points we were behind in 2024 from Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari, but I think we were over 150 points behind, and we still managed to come back and win the Constructors,” Norris began.

“I don’t know how far we are behind now; it’s already quite a bit, but I think we’re not necessarily thinking of that just yet. I think what we are focusing on is getting on the podium first of all, and then returning to winning races,” he added.

Further expressing confidence in the ability of the McLaren team, the British driver detailed how the team had built the best car over the last two campaigns and that achieving such remains a possibility this season.

“The points then take care of themselves, and we’ll see what we can claw back. But we’re confident in that. I want to say that we’re confident as a team and believe in ourselves. We’ve won the last two championships and the Drivers’ title last year because we could build the best car on the grid, and I’m confident we can get back to doing that this year. It just takes time. You have to be patient. But yes, I have strong belief in the team, and I think we can have the best car this year,” he concluded.

McLaren’s start to the year has been far from ideal, with the team only able to compete in the Australian Grand Prix with Norris. At the race in Shanghai, both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri recorded DNS, as they suffered separate electrical issues ahead of the start of the race.

Earlier, Norris admitted that the McLaren team had been able to identify the reason behind the technical problems experienced at the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.

The 26-year-old noted how the Woking-based outfit, in conjunction with Mercedes HPP, dissected the issues encountered by both cars during the week-long break leading up to the Japanese GP.

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