McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri say the team will continue fighting for the 2026 Formula 1 world championship rather than shifting focus to its 2027 car. The reigning constructors' champions sit third-fastest so far amid new technical regulations. Norris argues that abandoning the current season rarely pays off.
McLaren has struggled early in the 2026 campaign after F1's switch to new rules. Norris finished fifth in Australia and Japan, missing the Chinese Grand Prix due to an electronics issue. Piastri led the Suzuka race before settling for second, narrowing McLaren's qualifying gap to leader Mercedes from 0.862 seconds in Melbourne to 0.354 seconds there. Mercedes holds the edge, with Ferrari close behind. Norris told McLaren the team must push hard for the title. “Although we haven’t started the season where we want to be, we still want to push hard for the championship, this isn’t a case of giving up and focusing on next year – I’m not sure if that approach ever really works,” he said. He pointed to improvements in 2023, when McLaren rose from fifth after three races to fourth overall, and 2024, when it overcame a weak start to win six grands prix and the constructors' crown. Other teams show mixed results from development choices. Alpine halted work on its 2025 car in May and climbed to fifth place now, while Red Bull persisted in its drivers' title bid and slipped to sixth. Piastri expressed confidence in a turnaround. “I’m confident in this team that we’ll be back fighting consistently for wins this season,” he said, citing Suzuka's strong showing.
