Lando Norris Says He 'Doesn't Have The Car' For Title Fight Despite Dutch GP Win

Lando Norris believes McLaren still lack the all‑round package required for a title push, even after delivering back‑to‑back victories to begin Formula 1’s second half of the season.

His latest triumph at Zandvoort, following a breakthrough win in Hungary, showcased exceptional pace and racecraft, yet Norris insists McLaren's limitations remain too significant to ignore.

Lando Norris Still Has A Huge Championship Deficit

The Briton has cut his deficit to championship leader Kimi Antonelli to 83 points, overtaking the Mercedes driver on track during a chaotic Dutch Grand Prix.

Behind Antonelli, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton sit level on points, 59 adrift of the Italian.

The standings echo last season’s dramatic turnaround, when Max Verstappen overturned a huge deficit to finish just two points behind Norris.

Despite McLaren’s major upgrade delivering two dominant wins, Norris says the car’s strengths are too narrow to sustain a season‑long charge.

“We have a strong car in certain areas,” he said.

“We’re very, very strong in high speed… but their advantage that they have to us in slow speed is also crazy.”

He added: “At the minute I don’t have the car I need to fight for a championship.”

Long Straight Still A McLaren Weakness

Norris expects upcoming circuits to expose McLaren’s weaknesses.

Monza and Azerbaijan, both featuring long straights and limited high‑speed sections, are likely to punish the team’s drag levels.

Team principal Andrea Stella echoed the cautious optimism, saying: “If we can confirm our improvements in Monza, then we can look with some optimism at the remainder of the season.”

Norris’ Zandvoort win highlighted his growing maturity, built on improved understanding of the car and more effective communication with engineers.

“I do believe I'm able to understand situations better… it’s still just horrible to drive, but I'm doing a better job at understanding this,” he said.

Stella praised Norris’ evolution, calling him “a world champion‑level driver” who continues to improve.

Norris, however, remains grounded: “One race at a time… we have to keep working hard.”