1996 Formula 1 champion Damon Hill has made a bold prediction on Lando Norris’ title chances in 2026, as the Briton prepares to defend his maiden title.
Winning his maiden championship at the final race of the season in 2025, Norris will race 2026 with the number 1 adorning his McLaren.
The last decade has seen Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen enjoying successful multi-year title runs, with Norris ending Verstappen’s run of four consecutive championships.
Entering 2026, Norris will contend with car and regulation changes that threaten McLaren’s place at the top of F1’s pecking order, with new power units and active aerodynamics.
But Hill believes Norris’ maiden title will give him confidence, propelling him to further success now he has joined the sport’s group of elite drivers.
“He’s done it and there’s a lot of comfort that comes from that,” Hill said on Stay on Track podcast.
“He will be able to, to some degree, relax. It’s a question of the amount of avarice you have to win.
“I always thought when Michael won one, two, three, four, five championships, he’d had enough, but then he went on to win one or two more.
“Some people, it propels them to go on to win multiple championships. I definitely think Lando’s got more than one in him. I think he’s probably got three or four.”
A second McLaren battle royale between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri?
McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri saw his title hopes fade in the second half of the season, a factor that Hill said will drive the Australian forward in 2026.
“The question is, will Oscar, because he’s in the same team with Oscar, and Oscar did not exactly underperform,” he said.
“There were moments when he dropped out last year. He will go through the winter and think, ‘OK, what do I have to do to patch up those little holes in my performance?’
“He will find out how to stop that happening again. They’ve both been through a title fight with themselves and Max at the end. They will have learned massively from that.
“It will be a strong pairing, but there will be more determination within the team from Oscar to stop Lando beating him again.”
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