Lando Norris’s difficult title defense: a negative F1 trend not seen in 17 years. Lando Norris misses the podium in the first three Grands Prix of 2026.

Lando Norris has missed the podium in the first three rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 season, marking a rare trend that hadn’t appeared in 17 years.

No podium for Lando

In the final GP before F1’s long spring break—imposed due to the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf—McLaren showed some partial recovery after a tough start to the season. At Suzuka, Oscar Piastri secured an impressive second place after leading much of the race, while Lando Norris, despite a challenging weekend plagued by multiple technical issues, could still take satisfaction from finishing fifth.

Illustrious precedents

However, in his first three races as world champion, Norris did not reach the podium, hindered by the superior speed and reliability of rivals such as Ferrari and, in particular, Mercedes. With two fifth-place finishes and a fourth-place in three races, the Bristol-born driver ‘unlocked’ a negative statistic unseen in F1 for 17 years, last associated with one of Norris’s childhood heroes and fellow Briton: Lewis Hamilton.

The current Ferrari driver, then a McLaren racer, was the last reigning champion before Norris to miss the podium in the first three consecutive races. In Hamilton’s case, the 2009 drought (following his first world title) lasted until mid-season, eventually broken with a dramatic victory at the Hungarian GP. That win paved the way for nine more races in which the future seven-time world champion claimed two victories and five podiums overall.

Historical table of early struggles for reigning champions

Since then, even some unlucky or disappointing title defenses—like Sebastian Vettel’s in 2014—still saw the champion secure at least one podium in the first three GPs. Nico Rosberg is not counted in this statistic, as he retired after winning in 2016. Looking further back, Michael Schumacher missed the podium in the first three races of 2005 but finished second in the fourth race at Imola. He also missed the podium in his first three races in 2003 but ultimately celebrated his sixth career title at the end of the year, the fourth in a row. Before that, Jacques Villeneuve of Canada needed 11 Grands Prix to return to the top three after his championship-winning 1997 season, concluding the infamous Jerez finale.

An ‘English curse’?

There also seems to be a kind of curse for British world champions in the year following their first title. No UK driver has ever won consecutive first two titles. Before Norris and Hamilton, Damon Hill, 1996 champion with Williams, endured a nightmare first season as reigning champion in an Arrows car, scoring his only podium—a remarkable second place—at the 11th GP. The only exception is Jenson Button, who, after winning the 2009 title, reached the top step at the second GP the following year in Australia, although he ultimately finished fifth in the championship.