Formula 1 Japanese GP
Norris: McLaren has target on its back as rivals “talk crap” about team
Having won the opening two rounds of the Formula 1 season, Lando Norris believes McLaren is spurred on by the chasing pack
Mark Mann-Bryans
Edited: Apr 3, 2025, 8:13 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
“Nonsense”, “random” and “crap” – the three words Lando Norris used to describe recent comments made about McLaren by its rivals as the squad adjusts to life as the hunted rather than the hunter.
After ending a 26-year wait for a constructors’ championship last season, McLaren has continued where it left off – Norris winning in Australia before team-mate Oscar Piastri took victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.
From the moment the McLaren broke cover in pre-season testing, much has been said of its perceived dominance over the rest of the pack. Norris and Piastri have also been labelled as favourites for the drivers’ title.
Mercedes’ George Russell has also enjoyed a strong start to 2025 but suggested recently that McLaren had a car that boasted a bigger advantage over the field than the Red Bull had previously and could win every race of the year.
Meanwhile, the likes of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and its driver Charles Leclerc have also had their say on McLaren’s gap to the other teams on the grid.
“I think the people that say that, like the ‘unbeatable’ stuff... it's just nonsense. They just like to talk crap sometimes,” Norris said ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
“It's your job as the media to figure out these things, I think, and not just listen to what everyone says and write what they say. You have to try and understand what they're saying and prove that what they're saying is a fact, rather than... I can just say a load of crap and you write it down. But it's up to you, I think, to get across the facts of what is true, and not just write nonsense that people like to say.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Having taken over the mantle as F1’s team to beat, McLaren now has a large target painted on the back of its papaya cars.
Norris, however, insists the team is enjoying the new feeling of leading the way having completed a remarkable turnaround from being one of the slowest squads.
“I think if we go back one year ago, Red Bull were still a lot further ahead than we are now. The fact that they had two drivers up there dominating, they were a lot further ahead than we are now, so I think we're doing a very good job and I feel like people are talking about us a lot more now,” he said.
“I think it's because of where we've come from over the last year and a half, the deficit we've come from. But the car Red Bull had this time last year was a lot better than what we have now, compared to our competitors.
“I think you have to take that into account, but... I think we all feel good as a team, knowing that we have a strong car. It's not always the easiest car to drive, but a very strong car and the strongest car on the grid.
“The target [on our back] is a nice thing, I think. We're still new to it. I mean, Mercedes had it for five, six years where they were the targets, so I think we've got a bit of time before we get to those kinds of numbers. So for now, it's still like a motivating thing. While we're at the front, we know that they're behind us, so it really pushes us.
“I think we've pushed even more into this season, to start the season off on the right foot, ending with a very good year last year. We want to still try and increase our advantage more than what it is now.
“It's a good thing for us and we know that people love to talk and just say random things and stuff that's not true. But I hope that you guys are the ones that figure out... you know, what the facts are.”
Photos from Japanese GP - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Thursday
Formula 1
69
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Verstappen: Red Bull's main issue is F1 car, not drivers
Next article Piastri on how being “laser-sharp” on details has lifted one-lap F1 pace
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Mark Mann-Bryans
F1 driver market – Who is tied down for 2026?
Formula 1
Formula 1
F1 driver market – Who is tied down for 2026?
What’s next for sacked Red Bull boss Christian Horner?
Formula 1
Formula 1
What’s next for sacked Red Bull boss Christian Horner?
How Mercedes will help Kimi Antonelli recover from a run of tough F1 results
Formula 1
Formula 1
British GP
How Mercedes will help Kimi Antonelli recover from a run of tough F1 results
More from
McLaren
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
21 h
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Latest news
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
WRC
WRC WRC 21 min
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 2 h
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe