Lando Norris dismisses George Russell’s claim that McLaren should shift focus to 2026, insisting they must keep developing their 2025 car.
McLaren won’t be following George Russell’s advice to halt development on their 2025 car, the MCL39.
That’s the firm stance of Lando Norris, the current championship leader, who responded to Russell’s suggestion that McLaren should shift its focus entirely to the new 2026 regulations, given their early-season dominance.
“McLaren has such a gap over the rest that they could stop developing now and start focusing fully on 2026,” Russell said in Melbourne.
“With a six-tenth advantage at the start of the season, no one can catch them.”
Across the paddock, every team faces a unique challenge: balancing the improvement of their current car while simultaneously working on a brand-new platform for the radically different 2026 regulations.
Red Bull’s advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, left Melbourne cautiously optimistic, believing that McLaren’s edge could diminish within the first 3 to 5 races of 2025.
Norris, however, isn’t buying into the idea that they can afford to ease up.
“Max (Verstappen) was only three-tenths behind in qualifying,” he pointed out.
“Last year, we were much further back at this stage, and we still ended up with the best car by the end of the season.”
As for Russell’s comments, Norris made his stance clear:
“I know George said we could just focus on 2026. If that’s Mercedes’ mentality, then good for them, but that’s not the right mindset. Sorry, mate.”
“We know we still have a lot of work to do on this year’s car. If you start taking it easy in this position, you’re asking for trouble. In Formula 1, the moment you think you’ve got it all figured out and there’s nothing left to improve—that’s when you get caught out.”
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Norris Shuts Down 2026 Talk: “That’s Not Our Mentality” Norris Shuts Down 2026 Talk: “That’s Not Our Mentality”
