McLaren’s slow start to the 2026 season is them “paying the price” for last year’s world title triumphs, says Lando Norris.
Norris claimed his maiden Drivers’ Championship in 2025, pipping reigning champion Max Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri.
McLaren also dominated the Constructors’ Championship, claiming it for a second successive year and by a huge 364-point margin.
But there has been a significant drop-off this year after a horror start to life under the new regulations.
Piastri crashed in the first race in Melbourne as Norris claimed fifth, before neither of them started the Chinese Grand Prix due to issues with their cars.
While they showed promise last time out in Japan — Piastri finishing second and Norris fifth — they are already well adrift of Mercedes who have won all three races to date.
And Norris, who sits four points ahead of Piastri, feels their successes in 2025 have hampered them at the start of this new F1 era.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “It’s been a difficult start.
“That’s the price you pay for winning the world championship and throwing all your eggs in one basket. But 1776860470 is a time to work on developments and upgrades without races.
“It’s very difficult to say (how quickly McLaren can improve) because you never know when other people are going to bring upgrades.
“I’ve given up trying to guess what’s going to happen in Formula One. But we’re confident we can have a much more competitive car over the next month or two.”
The F1 has taken an extensive break after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East.
But after a five-week hiatus, the sport returns in Miami on the first weekend of May.
Last year, Piastri claimed victory ahead of Norris — with the rest of the field more than 30 seconds behind the dominant McLarens.
But this season it is Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell who are poised to fight it out for the victory.
Russell won in Melbourne, before Antonelli claimed back-to-back triumphs in China and Japan to take a nine-point lead to the US.