Lando Norris puts F1 rivals on notice with measured warning

Lando Norris believes McLaren can win more races in the second half of the F1 season after breaking through with a dominant victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, his first triumph of the campaign.

The reigning drivers' champion has endured a testing title defence so far. A DNS in China, retirements in Canada and Monaco, and a significant pace deficit to the leading Mercedes have left Norris fifth in the standings, 91 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli heading into the summer break.

Yet when the MCL40 has been underneath him and functioning, the Briton has repeatedly demonstrated that his speed remains undimmed.

Podiums in Miami and Barcelona preceded what was a commanding afternoon at the Hungaroring, where Norris converted pole position into a victory by 15 seconds from Max Verstappen, the 12th win of his career.

Still, in the aftermath of a weekend that could mark a turning point for McLaren's season, Norris was careful not to get carried away.

"I'm just happy with [winning in Budapest]," Norris told media, including RacingNews365. "It doesn't mean if I'm quick there, we're going to be quick everywhere.

"One thing I've learned for sure is just to have no expectations of the future and just to work in the present. I think that's the way we've been doing everything as a team.

"That's why we're back on top: just working hard on ourselves as individuals and also as a team. I just want to enjoy the break."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has estimated the Woking-based squad was as much as a second per lap adrift of Mercedes in the early races, and both the team and Norris acknowledged being roughly three months behind its rivals in the development race.

McLaren's comprehensive upgrades, however, appear to have closed the gap considerably, even if the car's operating window remains frustratingly narrow.

The British driver was candid about the work still required but left little doubt that he sees more wins on the horizon.

"Of course, I'm optimistic for the future, and I think we can win more races, but we have good competition, and there are still plenty of races I'm not confident in because the car is not to the standard that it needs to be in certain areas," he added.

"But I have confidence in the team. I had confidence that we could win a race, and it came a bit sooner than I thought. I have confidence that we can improve in those areas that are not good enough at the time."