Lando Norris will be heading into the 2026 F1 season as the reigning champion, trying to defend what was a hard-earned title. The driver came back from a significant deficit to his teammate, Oscar Piastri, and ultimately won the title.
While that is the case, when we’re looking at the 2026 F1 season, it does come as a surprise that Lando Norris’ name as the contender for the title does not feature prominently. On the contrary, the driver who featured more prominently is Mercedes’ lead driver, George Russell.
The way Lando Norris has approached F1 and gone about racing has been very different from his predecessors. Unlike the ruthless streaks of the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, Norris has been quite open about his vulnerabilities to the public.
He’s gone about racing in his own way and surmounted the hurdle of becoming a world champion. Now that he’s accomplished that, going into 2026, he should be one of the leading contenders for the title.
The burden is off Lando Norris’ shoulders
First and foremost, when we talk about Lando Norris, we talk about a driver who has arguably had a little too much self-doubt when he made his way through the junior categories. Norris has even talked about how he would question if he even belonged in the sport.
He’s overcome these mental battles in a manner that is quite appreciable, but there’s an additive factor to a driver’s performance that is often attributed to his winning the title. It tends to remove a lot of doubts one has and also liberates them.
The reigning F1 champion, Lando Norris, would now be a lot more assured of what he’s capable of and what he can do in a car, and the version that we’re going to see in 2026 is arguably going to be the best package of his career.
His second half of the 2025 F1 season was quite impressive
If we ever needed a hint of what a strong, all-rounded Lando Norris was capable of and what he looks like, the second half of the 2025 F1 season was a decent enough sample. After the race in Zandvoort, Norris went on a run where he was not only annihilating his teammate Oscar Piastri far too often, but he was also making sure that he wasn’t leaving much on the table in that McLaren.
Looking back at that second half of the season, Lando Norris would have clinched the championship much earlier if he had not suffered multiple DNFs and DSQs that were not his fault.
Experience of two championship battles
If the pre-season reporting is accurate, there’s a legitimate chance that the title battle could feature Mercedes-powered cars as the German manufacturer once again nails the power unit regulations. If that’s the case, then the two teams that could be expected to be ahead are McLaren and Mercedes.
If we talk about the contenders, then it’s going to come down to the duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from one team and George Russell and Kimi Antonelli on the other. Out of these drivers, the Brit stands out because he’s spent the last couple of years locked in intense title battles.
Not everything has gone his way, but what works for him is the fact that in these two years, he’s had the opportunity to learn and continue to grow. To a large extent, Oscar Piastri would also hold an advantage here, as 2025 was a learning experience for him as well. For George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, this is the first time they would potentially be in a title battle, and would be at a deficit.
McLaren is surging and getting better as a team
What quite a few don’t understand for now is that McLaren as a team is surging right now. It is going through the phase where, even though it has reached the front of the grid and is starting to win regularly, it is still finding those wrinkles that need to be ironed out.
Red Bull went through the same phase when it first started winning in the early 2010s as well.
The McLaren we saw in 2025 was arguably a better all-around team compared to what it was in 2024.
Expect something similar in terms of a bump in performance in 2026 from the team, and that is certainly going to aid Lando Norris in a potential title battle.
Conclusion
For the 2026 F1 season, Lando Norris comes in as the reigning champion with a car that’s potentially capable of fighting for the title. While many continue to write him off, his peak performances, his experience in title battles, and the fact that he’s got a title in the bag already are certainly going to help keep him in good stead.
