Norris could be first reigning F1 champion since 1997 to finish outside top five

Six races remain in Lando Norris’s 2026 title defence. The 2025 champion is sixth in the drivers’ standings on 201 points; if he ends 2026 sixth or lower, he would be the first reigning Formula 1 champion since Damon Hill in 1997 to finish outside the top five.

Norris is 14 points behind fifth-placed Charles Leclerc and 20 behind fourth-placed Max Verstappen. Motorsport.com said a top-five recovery remained possible if McLaren could improve the car in time; no sprint-race weekends remain in the 2026 season.

Hill is the last reigning champion to finish outside the top five: after winning the 1996 title with Williams, he was dropped by the team, moved to Arrows and finished 12th in 1997. From 1998 onward, fifth has been the lowest finish by a reigning champion in the season after winning the title.

After finishing fourth at the Singapore Grand Prix, Norris said the McLaren car lacked pace and was too difficult to drive. Team principal Andrea Stella said long-straight circuits were a weakness for the package, naming Baku, Monza and Las Vegas; low-speed, tight corners under braking were a relative strength, though the car was not the best even there. Stella expected its strengths and weaknesses to produce ups and downs through the rest of 2026.