Norris realistic: without mistakes, fifth place is the true target
McLaren’s start to the 2026 Formula 1 season has been more difficult than expected, with the team battling not only reliability issues but also a lack of outright performance. The MCL40 has struggled to exploit what were once its greatest strengths—its chassis and aerodynamic stability—which proved particularly effective under the previous ground-effect regulations.
Although McLaren’s performances have improved over the last few races, Lando Norris believes the podium finish in Barcelona does not change the overall picture. The Woking-based team still trails the front-runners, and at the Red Bull Ring the priority will be to capitalise on every opportunity rather than expect to match Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull on pure pace.
Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, the British driver was keen to temper the enthusiasm generated by his third-place finish in Spain. While team principal Andrea Stella had spoken about McLaren raising its performance level, Norris explained that the improvement was mainly related to the team’s execution throughout the race weekend rather than a major technical breakthrough.
“We’ve simply tried to get more out of every single person in the team, myself included.”
When asked what would represent a successful result in Austria, Norris initially avoided giving a specific target before offering a remarkably honest assessment of McLaren’s current position.
“There are four cars that are much faster than ours. Red Bull is bringing a lot of upgrades this weekend, while Ferrari is introducing the latest evolution of its power unit. Looking purely at outright performance, fifth place is probably the best we can realistically aim for.”
Of course, Formula 1 is about far more than raw speed alone. Strong qualifying, flawless reliability and the ability to seize every opportunity often make the difference between an average result and an outstanding one.
According to Norris, that is exactly what happened in Barcelona, where McLaren capitalised on mistakes and reliability problems suffered by its rivals. In previous races, however, the opposite had been true, with the Woking-based team paying a heavy price for failing to maximise its own opportunities.
Even though the Red Bull Ring has historically been one of McLaren’s more competitive circuits, Norris remains cautious about the team’s prospects.
“I hope that’s the case again this weekend, but I don’t know whether we’ll be able to do better than Barcelona. We’ll certainly try.”
The impression is that the reigning world champion has come to accept an important reality. Over the past two years, McLaren’s dominant pace often allowed the team a certain margin for error. This season, however, Norris believes every result must be earned through near-perfect execution, leaving nothing on the table until McLaren can close the remaining technical gap to its main rivals.
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