F1 2026: Lando Norris 'completely agrees' he won't be title favourite

Latest F1 News

Lando Norris 'completely agrees' he won't win 2026 F1 championship

The odds are in for the 2026 favourites, and even Norris doesn't back himself

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 7 February 2026 08:51

F1 champion Lando Norris has admitted he agrees with early rumours that McLaren won't be the ones to beat in 2026.

The British racer achieved his childhood dream of becoming F1 champion last season, clinching the drivers' title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by earning just two more points than Max Verstappen after 24 rounds.

Norris fought off both the four-time champion in the shape of Verstappen and his own McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, but with just one month to go until the first grand prix of 2026, it is none of last year's top three who are the bookies' favourite to claim the first championship of the new regulations cycle.

Article continues under video

Mercedes have mastered regulation changes in the past and already proved their reliability at the Barcelona shakedown in January when George Russell and Kimi Antonelli managed to complete a whopping 500 laps between them across their three days of testing.

Toto Wolff's outfit put in the most laps out of any of the 10 teams that attended the private testing, and the bookmaker's favourite heading into the season isn't reigning champion Norris, but instead, his long-time friend Russell.

F1 HEADLINES: Horner makes decision on return as legend linked with stunning McLaren move

Norris: 'I completely believe Russell will win a championship'

Ahead of next week's first round of official 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain, Norris sat down with Sky Sports' Craig Slater, who kindly pointed out to the Brit that it was Russell who was the bookmaker's favourite, not him.

"He is the massive favourite to be honest with you. I completely agree with the bookmakers," said Norris, agreeing with the early hype that Mercedes will be above McLaren in the 2026 competitive order.

Slater then suggested Mercedes would be strong because of their engine formula, but given that McLaren remain a customer team of Mercedes, what does Norris think about the papaya team’s chances of catching up to the Silver Arrows should they prove to be the ones to beat in 2026?

“I think it's hard to say that,” Norris said when asked if he thought the new engine might take longer for McLaren to get used to than Mercedes.

“You know, it's a big task. Like when you see what goes into making a car, it's the same level for an engine or even more. They've been working on this for years already. So, everything takes time," he continued.

"There's stuff that they're going to be learning. There's stuff that we're going to learn, but we're still part of the same family, the same engine supplier, and that's a great thing for us.

“We work together as a unity, and they've done an incredible job in every other regulation change when the engine's been new and refreshed and everything. I mean, we're confident. We always are going to have things to try and improve on and to learn on, but they've done a very good job with us over the last few years. We have a pleasure to work with them and that will continue for many more years.”

Norris then reflected on how he would feel about a title battle with his fellow countryman, touching on whether it would impact their friendly relationship.

“Me and George get along well," the 26-year-old said.

"It's not like we talk every day, but I think we have a lot of respect for one another. I think he shows that towards me and I completely believe he'll win a championship in the future. So whether that's this year or next year, whatever it may be. I've enjoyed my battles with him and he's a lovely guy."

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

Norris will be in action with McLaren when the 2026 season starts in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. The first race of the year takes place on March 8 at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET. The first round of pre-season tests in Bahrain will kick off before then on February 11 until 13, and the second round continues from February 18 until February 20.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

F1 McLaren Lando Norris 2026 regulations