Norris: Better Than Champion Year?

Reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris suggests his current performance levels exceed those of his title-winning 2025 campaign. Following two recent victories for McLaren in Hungary and Zandvoort, Norris has injected new life into his defense of the championship. Despite being fourth in the standings and trailing the leader by 83 points, Norris feels he is operating at a higher personal level.

Norris explained that while the car is more challenging to drive this year, he believes he better understands its intricacies and can communicate these insights to his team. He emphasized that his improvement extends beyond on-track driving to his professional conduct off the track. Norris cited the overnight work between the sprint race and the grand prix in Zandvoort as a prime example, where collaborative efforts with McLaren engineers led to significant performance gains and his eventual victory.

Reflecting on his 13th Grand Prix win, Norris ranked it highly due to its hard-fought nature, particularly the turnaround from the previous day's sprint race struggles. He noted the significant effort invested overnight with his engineers to refine strategy and car management. This dedication, he believes, allowed him to outpace competitors and secure the victory, despite an initially challenging stint on hard tires.