Lando Norris makes blunt McLaren admission after Singapore GP woes

The 2026 Formula 1 season has been a mixed bag for McLaren. After winning the 2025 title with Lando Norris, hopes were high.

However, with the new regulations introduced for this season, the Woking-based team has not been able to repeat its success from 2025.

McLaren has won two Grands Prix, both with Norris, in Hungary and the Netherlands, and across Norris and Oscar Piastri, they have a further five Grands Prix podiums, a Sprint Race victory, and four Sprint Race podiums.

The main issue for the papaya squad is that their drivers sit sixth and seventh in the Championship standings, behind both Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, as well as Max Verstappen.

When looking at the Constructors’ standings, McLaren are third in the championship, but are only six points ahead of Red Bull after the Singapore Grand Prix.

With only six race weekends left in the 2026 season, Norris admitted a grim reality after the latest race weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, as he stated that McLaren are the ‘worst of the top four teams’.

The 2025 Formula 1 champion believes that McLaren are closer to where they were at the start of the season, and do not have any upgrades set to arrive in the near future to help hold off the fast-charging Red Bull’s behind them.

When speaking to Sky Sports about whether McLaren can hold off Red Bull, Norris said, “We can't unless we bring upgrades, and we don't have anything for a little bit. 

“But, at the minute, we're fourth fastest. We're back to the back of the top group, which is closer to where we were at the beginning of the year. And we can still fight pretty well. 

“We're still fighting for top four and almost for a podium, but, we're we're still too far off. And we're the worst of the top four teams. So, we have to just keep trying to upgrade the car, that's all.”

McLaren was a large talking point from the Singapore Grand Prix, as Norris collided with his teammate on the final lap in the Sprint Race. Leaving his time with only one point as he was still able to finish in eighth place, even though the drivers had previously been running in fourth and fifth prior to the accident.