McLaren Formula One driver Lando Norris has targeted Mercedes‘ George Russell after the latter made comments that McLaren was ready to focus on the 2026 season, following a display of dominant pace during the Australian Grand Prix weekend. Norris called out Russell’s Mercedes “mentality” by saying that “if you relax, you fail” in F1.
Russell shared his comments after the qualifying round last weekend, where McLaren secured a front-row lockout with Norris securing the pole and Oscar Piastri in second. With F1 teams balancing the development of the 2025 and 2026 cars this year, Russell suggested that McLaren has built a dominant car for the current season by judging its pace and hence remarked that the team could focus on developing the 2026 car. He said on Saturday:
“It is as we expected with McLaren out in front, but I feel like this season can be anyone’s game between ourselves, Red Bull and Ferrari.
“We’ve seen how strong they are, it seems natural.
“They have such an advantage, they can stop development now and go fully onto 2026, it is difficult to overcome that gap.”
Norris went on to secure his fifth Grand Prix victory on Sunday at the Albert Park circuit. Unfortunately, Piastri missed a podium finish after losing control of his car on the wet track, eventually finishing the race in ninth place.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Norris replied to Russell’s 2026 remark, citing an example from last year’s season opener, hinting that the season had only just begun and things could change quickly. He said:
“Let’s see. Max [Verstappen] was three-tenths off yesterday. Last year, we were much further off and ended up with the best car by the end of the season.
“We were over half a second off at the beginning of last year behind Red Bull and ended up with the quickest car.
“I know George made some comments earlier this weekend that they [McLaren] can just turn our focus to 2026. If that’s their mentality, wonderful, but that’s not the mentality to have.”
He added:
“Sorry, mate. We know we still have a lot of work to do on this year’s car.
“If you relax in this position, you fail. In Formula 1, if you start thinking things are good and groovy, that’s when you get caught.”
Norris continued, offering a more realistic view of why he thinks the game could change, and pointed out that there was scope for improvement with his McLaren MCL39. He said:
“I do think we’re favourites because the team has done an amazing job, and the car is flying. But we will have races where we struggle.
“If we started the season in Bahrain, I don’t think we would have won, and you wouldn’t be asking me this question.
“Let’s allow a few more races to take place before making any obvious statements. But we are the team to beat, mainly because we have two drivers up there pushing each other. That helps.
“Do I think me and Oscar pushing each other in qualifying yesterday allowed us to get one and a half, one tenth more than the two drivers here because their team-mates aren’t as equipped or experienced? Yes, so add that into the equation as well. It’s not just about the car.
“The team has done an amazing job, and I thank them for everything they’re doing. But we know we can make it better, and that’s our aim.”
Mercedes also showcased a strong pace in Melbourne as Russell managed to secure third place behind Max Verstappen, while his teammate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fourth.
The post McLaren F1’s Lando Norris Takes Aim at Mercedes Driver’s ‘Mentality’ – ‘If You Relax, You Fail’ appeared first on Newsweek.
