Norris adamant over 'perfect season' F1 title loss stance

Lando Norris has conceded he would not have prevailed in the drivers' championship this year, even if he executed a “perfect season”.

Norris' title hopes faded last weekend in Las Vegas as Max Verstappen's performance was enough to see him seal his fourth championship.

Verstappen enjoyed a strong opening phase to the season, winning seven out of the opening 10 races.

Victories then became harder to achieve as the competition closed in, with Norris closing the gap as Red Bull slumped down the pecking order.

Norris voiced pride in being able to take the title fight into the final three races - but insists Red Bull has always had the upper hand.

"I'm very proud of the whole team for putting up the fight for so long, for starting to catch up and catching up as much as we did,” Norris told media including RacingNews365. 

“We were the fourth-best team at the beginning of the year.

"Red Bull has never been the fourth-best team or worst, let's say, ever. 

“We had just too big of a deficit to catch up from the beginning of the season, and we could not, because they've been too strong.”

The current F1 pecking order is not expected to undergo major changes next year as the technical regulations remain untouched ahead of a huge overhaul in 2026.

Norris is looking to kick off a title bid from the opening round next season and deliver McLaren's first drivers' title in 17 years.

Having fallen short this campaign, Norris has stated a perfectly executed season from McLaren still would not have been enough to usurp Red Bull and Verstappen.

"Next year, we'll go into the season with a car we think we can win a championship with from round one, and we've not been able to do that for the last six years, so I'm excited for that,” he said. 

"But I'm proud of what we've achieved. My first win in Formula 1, my first three [wins], no one else is there fighting him. It's been me and it's been McLaren.

"Could we have done some things better? Absolutely. Do I think we could have won the championship even with a perfect season? I don't. So I'm happy to finish second."