Lando Norris delivers 'fail' response following George Russell claim

Lando Norris has refuted George Russell's suggestion that McLaren could completely turn its attention to the 2026 F1 season, such is the extent he perceives the Woking squad's current advantage to be.

The 25-year-old's rebuttal came after storming to victory in the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix, controlling the race from the outside despite tricky, changeable conditions.

Russell, who finished third, made his comments after qualifying. The Papaya cars had both qualified at least three-tenths of a second clear of Max Verstappen, who lined up behind them at Albert Park.

After taking his fifth grand prix victory, Norris was asked if he would now concede he is the favourite to win the championship this year.

The British driver took the opportunity to address Russell's comments, who was alongside him in the post-race press conference.

"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," he told media including RacingNews365.

"We were over half a second off at the beginning of last year behind Red Bull and ended up with the quickest car," he pointed out before responding to Russell's remarks directly.

"I know George made some comments earlier this weekend that they [McLaren] can just turn our focus to 2026," he said. "If that’s their mentality, wonderful, but that’s not the mentality to have."

He added: "Sorry, mate," about the Mercedes driver before continuing: "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: 'We will have races where we struggle'

Norris outlined why he believes such questions are premature, highlighting how different the opening round could have been had it been held elsewhere.

He also zeroed in on the impact he and team-mate Oscar Piastri have on each other's level of performance. 

"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," he explained.

"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."

Russell, who has also been asked if he felt McLaren could be caught, picked up on one particular phrase used by Norris, saying: "They look pretty good and groovy at the moment. So yeah, we’ll see."