Norris calls McLaren’s 2026 season a success despite losing both F1 titles

McLaren lost both Formula 1 titles in 2026, but Lando Norris calls the campaign a success rather than a failure. Kimi Antonelli succeeded him as world champion and Mercedes took the constructors’ title.

Norris’s main lesson, he said, is that a championship offers no guarantee of future success. “Nothing comes easy,” he said. Each season is a reset, he added, and the work demanded of every team member keeps growing.

McLaren and Red Bull continued developing their 2025 cars while pursuing the titles, whereas Mercedes and Ferrari could switch earlier to the radical 2026 regulations. Norris said rival teams had become more consistent in the upgrade battle, with the leading teams performing at a higher level.

Norris won in Hungary, the Netherlands and São Paulo. A virtual safety car arriving at an unlucky moment denied him a clear victory in Spain. He said McLaren had wanted more, but that the scale of the regulation change and the strength of the competition made the season a successful upturn rather than a disappointment.