We rate the F1 2026 title contenders - Lando Norris

Lando Norris didn’t make the charge to the 2025 Formula 1 crown easy for himself last year. The young Briton took the fight to the final race of the year as he fended off attacks from team-mate Oscar Piastri and a late resurgence from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. But 2026 offers a clean slate for the McLaren driver.

Amid Formula 1’s rules shakeup, Norris could face stiff competition over 2026 from further afield on the grid compared with last year. Mercedes appears strong after testing, as does Ferrari, and only a fool would count out Red Bull given its history in the series. With this in mind, our experts share their opinions on Norris’ prospects in F1 2026.

Filip Cleeren - Norris now has the confidence to match his pace, but will he have the car?

Norris is a brilliantly flawed world champion. There was never any doubt about his raw pace, but 2025 saw him overcome self doubt and technical difficulties with the MCL39 to claim his maiden title. That crown initially looked like going to Piastri until the Australian suffered a rougher spell that saw him relegated to third behind Norris and Verstappen. Norris's racecraft has also come under fire in recent years, but his decisive overtakes in the Abu Dhabi finale, when it mattered the most, were impressive.

Norris won't get any quicker – no one does at this stage of their careers – but by proving to himself he can be a world champion, the confidence he has taken from 2025's coming-of-age year will make him more relaxed, especially in the face of external pressure.

At the same time, Piastri will also get better into his fourth season, so the Australian can certainly make life difficult for Norris if he can repeat his early 2025 form. The bigger question mark for both drivers is the car. McLaren looks set to start the season behind the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari. How far off will it be? And can it develop its way back to the front again like in 2024?

Jake Boxall-Legge - A successful title defence might be hard with McLaren

After getting his title over the line, Norris may feel that he no longer has anything to prove – but, freed of the shackles and the expectation, he'll surely get even better as time goes on. His championship-winning season began with a character-building period in the early season but, once he got more comfortable with McLaren's MCL39 and struggled less with the car over a hot lap, the results began to come to him.

Strong in low-grip conditions, Norris should be able to acquaint himself well with the new car; the carryover in confidence bestowed upon him with last year's crown should also count for something in the early season. McLaren might not be as competitive as last year and a successful title defence will be hard, but he should be able to compete for the odd win.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images

Ronald Vording - Norris' consistency made a huge step forward in 2025

Just as Verstappen pointed out at the end of 2021, the same applies to Norris: he has already achieved his lifetime goal in Formula 1 – regardless of what happens in this new era. Norris will forever be part of the illustrious list of F1 world champions, and he is reminded of that fact every day this season by the number 1 displayed on his McLaren.

With Norris, pure pace still stands out in my view – and in fact, it has done since his junior career. I have ranked him third on the current grid in terms of pure speed, behind Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. His qualifying speed is usually on point, even in the more difficult race weekends, which means he should score higher there than it the other categories.

In terms of consistency, Norris made a significant step forward in the second half of last season. I believe everyone’s consistency numbers would have been much lower if the balance had been drawn during the 2025 summer break. But what Norris has shown since Zandvoort has been very consistent – including his performances under pressure. He will undoubtedly benefit from that step for the remainder of his career, aside from the fact that winning a world title naturally brings a certain mental calm.

How our rating system works

To set the drivers apart, we have taken inspiration from the official F1 game to attribute scores in four different categories, out of a maximum of 100.

• Experience (EXP): An objective score simply based on the driver's experience level through total race starts
• Racecraft (RAC): The driver's ability to race wheel to wheel, either to defend a position or pull off a decisive overtake, without landing themselves in trouble with the stewards
• Consistency (CON): The driver's ability to keep clean, avoid unforced errors while being consistently quick in a race
• Pace (PAC): Reflects a driver's pace over one lap, largely in relation to their team-mate
• Overall Rating (OVR): The four above categories will be combined into an overall rating, weighted towards Pace.