Lando Norris has contended that people “like to talk crap sometimes” as he described claims that McLaren has an unbeatable advantage in Formula 1 as “nonsense”.
The pre-season consensus that McLaren would be the side to beat has been realised as the reigning champions have begun the campaign with successive victories.
George Russell had vowed even before McLaren’s winning start in Australia that the team could switch attention to the new rules in 2026 now and still win both titles.
Russell doubled down on that prior to the previous race in China as he stated that McLaren’s margin exceeds what Red Bull held when it won all but one race in 2023.
Norris, alongside team-mate Oscar Piastri, discarded the Mercedes driver’s recent comments as an unsuccessful attempt to use mind games to destabilise McLaren.
The Briton has urged the media to give substance to speculative claims, as he insisted McLaren’s gap isn’t comparable to the lead Red Bull harboured 12 months ago.
“I think the people that say that, like the unbeatable stuff is just nonsense, and they just like to talk crap sometimes,” Norris told media including Motorsport Week.
“But, I mean, it’s your job as the media to figure out these things, I think, and not just listen to what everyone says and write what they say, you know.
“You have to try and understand what they’re saying and prove that what they’re saying is a fact, rather than I can just say a load of crap and you write it down.
“But, you know, it’s up to you [the media], I think, to get across the facts of what is true and not just write nonsense that people like to say.
“So, you know, I think if you go back one year ago, Red Bull was still a lot further ahead than we are now.
“The fact that they had two drivers up there dominating, they were a lot further ahead than we are now.
“So I think, you know, we’re doing a very good job, and I feel like people are talking about us a lot more now.
“But I think it’s because of where we’ve come from, you know, over the last year and a half, where the deficit we’ve come from.
“But the car Red Bull had at this time last year was a lot better than what we have now, comparing to our competitors. So I think you have to take that into account.”
Norris insists McLaren won’t get complacent
Norris is adamant that the Woking-based squad won’t get complacent as it bids to retain the Constructors’ Championship while also capturing an elusive Drivers’ title.
“I think we all feel good as a team, knowing that we have a strong car, not always the easiest car to drive, but a very strong car, and the strongest car on the grid,” he said.
“But the target, I think, is a nice thing. Like, we’re still new to it. I mean, Mercedes had it for like five, six years, where they were the targets, you know?
“So I think we’ve got a bit of time before we get to those kind of numbers. So for now, it’s still like a motivating thing.
“So while we were at the front, we were there behind us, and it still kind of really pushes us.
“I think when you do it for four, five, six years, like Mercedes did back then, that’s probably at some point, it’s just only human that you start to get a little bit complacent with certain things.
“But I think for us, we pushed even more into this season, to start the season off on the right foot, ending with a very good year last year.
“And yeah, we want to still try and increase our advantage more than what it is now. So yeah, it’s a good thing for us.
“And we know that people love to talk and just say things and random things and stuff.
“That’s not true, but I hope that you guys are the ones that figure out the people who talk crap and nonsense and figure out what the facts are of it.”
READ MORE – How Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are upholding McLaren F1 title credentials
