Lando Norris concedes no team will “close the gap” to Red Bull before 2026

Lando Norris and McLaren are one of the team projected to produce performance worthy of beating Red Bull.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have been dominating Formula 1 since the second half of the 2022 season. The Dutchman continued his hot streak from historic 2023 season by winning the first two races of the 2024 season. His only loss this season came last week at the Australian GP, and it was the result of a mechanical issues that caused him to retire.

Due to Red Bull’s dominance, McLaren driver Lando Norris believes that no teams will fully be able to catch up to The Austrian side before 2026 season when the new regulations will be adopted. Norris believes that due to the massive advantage they have even this year, their 2025 challenger will also have a lot of development time, leading to wider gaps on the track.

No, I think for things to really shake up, you need to wait until 2026, Now there’s not really anything between the power units between teams, but a lot more between cars. I expect Red Bull, being the team that they are, to always carry an advantage because they’re ahead.I think that could potentially be a big shake-up for every team, including the power units probably being one of the biggest things.”
Lando Norris said via motorsport.com.

The Briton later detailed how Red Bull’s aerodynamic advantage is the key reason for their pace and not the power unit. With rumors about upgrades coming from Ferrari and McLaren themselves at Imola, only time will tell if the Red Bulls and Verstappen can continue their dominance.

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Lando Norris is scared about Zandvoort despite Mclaren’s improvements

Norris spoke about how he is satisfied with the overall improved package of the MCL38. But fears driving at one track, which may showcase the car’s weaknesses. Max Verstappen‘s home track Zandvoort is the track Norris and Mclaren seem to dread, due to the track’s low-speed nature.

I want to believe that we maybe have a slightly better all-round package, but I don’t think we’ve visited some tracks yet where we’ve seen as many weaknesses, like Zandvoort, for example. Not looking forward to it! And a couple of tracks that really show where the car is weak.

Lando Norris said.

With Zandvoort having 6 out of 14 slow-speed corners, the track will definitely be very tricky for McLaren. Only time will tell if McLaren will be able to get rid of their slow speed cornering issues before the race there in late August.