Lando Norris said he hopes George Russell and Kimi Antonelli continue their battles on track this season, as it could help McLaren further down the line in a similar way his and Oscar Piastri’s battling inadvertently aided Max Verstappen in 2025.
The reigning world champion acknowledged his team had a start “on the back foot” to begin the season, though teammate Piastri raced to the podium at Suzuka in what could have been a race victory, barring an ill-timed Safety Car from the Australian’s perspective.
Lando Norris: ‘The more Mercedes battle, the better’
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.
With Russell being the senior driver at Mercedes in age and experience, it was expected that he would continue his head-to-head form over Antonelli, with the young Italian still gathering experience in the sport.
Russell took victory in the Australian Grand Prix and Sprint in Shanghai, though Antonelli has managed to take the early Drivers’ Championship lead with the first pole positions and grand prix victories of his Formula 1 career.
McLaren, though, is looking to be back in the fight sooner rather than later, with team principal Andrea Stella having hinted at pretty much an all-new car come the Canadian Grand Prix, such is the rate of development in the early stages of these regulations.
After Piastri’s podium, too, there is underlying performance within the MCL40 and, despite an early deficit to Mercedes, Norris knows from experience that teammate battles can help open the door for others to join the fight.
What is coming up next this season?
F1 schedule: When is the next F1 race and where is it being held?
F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying records between teammates
“Let’s hope so,” Norris told PlanetF1.com and others with a smile, when asked about if McLaren can profit from the Mercedes duo fighting on track.
“Certainly, the more that they can battle, the better.
“It’s good to see. Kimi is in his second year in F1, so he’s doing a good job. It’s also cool to see. He’s a very nice guy, and he’s performing well at the top level in Formula 1.
“He’s had a good few races, so it’s good to see that he’s kind of found that extra bit of pace and battling George convincingly, which is cool, but it’s a good thing for us.
“We know we were a little bit on the back foot at the beginning of the season. We certainly hope that we can catch up, and the more points they can take away from each other, the better – the same like us [he and Piastri, ed.] last year and Max in a fight.
“Hopefully it can be a similar story the other way around.”
Norris heads back to the scene of his first race victory in Formula 1 in Miami next weekend, with the Briton holding an early 47-point deficit to the Mercedes teenager in the standings.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.
You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!
Read next: Oscar Piastri’s Mercedes admission ahead of Miami engine tweaks