Lando Norris optimistic following strong Miami Grand Prix showing
Lando Norris has declared it would “feel silly” not to harbour optimism about McLaren’s trajectory following the team’s impressive showing at the Miami Grand Prix, reports BritPanorama.
The British driver secured victory in the sprint race before claiming second place in Sunday’s main event, where Kimi Antonelli took his third consecutive win. Oscar Piastri completed a strong weekend for the Woking outfit by finishing third in the grand prix.
“I think you’d have to feel silly if you don’t feel confident about the future when we improved so much this weekend,” Norris said.
The result represented McLaren’s strongest performance of the 2026 campaign after a difficult opening to the season, which saw three retirements across the first two rounds. Despite the encouraging results, Norris maintained his characteristically measured perspective on McLaren’s competitive position.
The 26-year-old acknowledged that the Miami circuit has traditionally favoured his team whilst proving less suited to Mercedes machinery. “I’m always that guy that looks at things on the slightly more glass-half-empty side, but this is a track that suits us and in the past has not suited the Mercedes quite so well,” he explained. Nevertheless, the Silver Arrows demonstrated considerable pace throughout the weekend, with Antonelli ultimately prevailing in the grand prix.
Norris pointed to the forthcoming Canadian Grand Prix as a more revealing test of the competitive order. “We’re going to go to a track that Mercedes have probably been the best at over the last five, six years,” he noted. “So, we have to wait and see.”
Norris emphasised the importance of assessing McLaren’s competitiveness across a broader sample of circuits before reaching any firm conclusions. “In Formula 1 it’s too easy to judge things over one race,” he cautioned. “You need to see how you are over a number of races and different styles of track: street circuits, hot tracks, cold tracks, tight and twisty, fast circuits.” The McLaren driver expressed pride in his team’s efforts whilst stressing the necessity of maintaining development momentum.
“There’s no point getting ahead of ourselves. We’ve had a very good weekend, I’m very proud of the team,” he said. “But I also want to make sure they keep pushing and keep trying to improve things, because we still need that.”
McLaren has confirmed it will introduce upgrades at upcoming races.
The promise of improvement is welcome, yet the stark reality remains: the battle in Formula 1 is relentless, and each new circuit presents fresh challenges. As Norris reflected on the weekend’s achievements, it’s clear that the journey towards sustained performance is just beginning.
