Norris warns Antonelli with a smile: 'He should feel the pressure'

The defending world champion claimed his first Grand Prix victory of the 2026 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, showing stunning pace throughout the race. In the end, he crossed the finish line more than 15 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen.

Thanks to this result, Norris is now 91 points behind Antonelli in the drivers' standings entering the summer break.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Briton warned the Italian with a big smile when asked about whether he could chase him down during the second half of the F1 season. "How many points behind am I? He should feel the pressure, that's for sure. That will be done in like two races... or ten."

He added: "But I mean, the pressure is on him for sure. There's no pressure on me, I've been feeling very confident. They've been making more mistakes as a team, and we've made less and we've certainly come strong, but I expect them to still win races and expect us to win more races, we just need to be perfect."

Norris himself experienced last year that a comeback is indeed possible. At one stage of the season, Verstappen trailed the championship leader by 105 points but ultimately fell just short of a fifth consecutive title, with Norris eventually being crowned world champion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Norris will continue to push for more victories during the second half of the year.

"I want to believe so," the McLaren driver said. "Considering how good it felt today, I certainly want to believe that we can continue it. There’s going to be moments where we’re going to struggle more and moments that might be even better.