3 ways Lando Norris can realistically win the 2026 World Championship

McLaren’s defending world champion Lando Norris has secured back-to-back wins, with talk of him now entering the title fight. Sam Wye looks into the Briton’s pathways to the 2026 world driver’s title.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

Lando’s win last time out at the Dutch GP sees him become the first non-Mercedes driver to win on multiple occasions this season. Naturally, murmurs of a championship challenge have emerged off the back of the McLaren man’s back-to-back victories.

The gap between Norris and championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, currently sits at a sizeable 83 points. Following his win, the defending world champion now jumps to fourth in the drivers’ standings, 24 points adrift of Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who are second and third, respectively.

However, several encouraging signs should get Lando fans excited for the rest of the season.

Upgrades

If Norris is going to catch Mercedes this season after the start they made, then he will need Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to finish lower than 2nd and 3rd every weekend in order to reduce the points gap.

Luckily for him, McLaren and Ferrari are both rumoured to out-develop Mercedes over the back half of this year. Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff admitted that the Silver Arrows did not have the budget to match the predicted developments that their rivals are scheduled to bring in the upcoming races.

If Norris can get the two Ferraris in between himself and Antonelli, then that 83-point lead might not seem as unbreakable as it once appeared.

Every team’s 2026 mid-season ratings

Teammates

Unlike Mercedes and Ferrari, Norris has had a more manageable time staying ahead of his teammate this year.

Oscar Piastri has had a difficult season, leaving him down in 7th in the drivers’ standings and 55 points behind Norris. Kimi Antonelli has generally had the edge over his teammate George Russell this year. However, there are signs that George is beginning to claw himself back into the fight, after outqualifying the young Italian in both qualifying sessions at Zandvoort.

Meanwhile, Ferrari have had one of the closest driver pairings this season. Hamilton and Leclerc have been barely separated by a sheet of paper at times out on track. Lewis currently leads Charles 9 – 8 in their qualifying head-to-head, whilst Charles leads by the same amount in races.

The competitiveness of both drivers has ultimately helped the Scuderia position themselves a comfortable 2nd in the constructors standings. However, it may hurt Hamilton and Leclerc’s individual chances at a drivers title. This was evident during the Dutch GP weekend, as the two red cars repeatedly got in each others way whilst trying to hunt down a podium spot.

Lando Norris takes victory at dramatic final Dutch Grand Prix

History repeating itself

If Lando’s confidence was not already sky-high after back-to-back wins, it should be after looking back at how things have played out in the past for him. In 2024 and 2025, Norris and McLaren have come on stronger in the 2nd half of the season.

After the Dutch GP in 2025, Norris scored 47 more points than championship rival Oscar Piastri.

Similarly, 3 out of the Brit’s 4 wins in 2024 came during the 2nd half of the season. As a result, McLaren went on to snatch the constructors’ championship for the first time in almost 30 years. Tracks such as Mexico, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi have been historically strong hunting grounds for Norris.

The papaya fans will be hoping they prove equally fruitful this campaign.

Ferrari confirm they considered leaving Hamilton out at Dutch Grand Prix

This is a new scenario for Lando Norris, as it feels different to previous seasons. In the past, Norris has looked under immense pressure to perform as a driver with a lot to prove. This season, he has become a different driver.

His title win in 2025 has seemingly reduced a lot of the pressures from before. In this way, Norris has appeared to be more excited by the challenge Mercedes has posed instead of being worried by it.

The task may end up being too difficult to overcome, but no one would have predicted a McLaren driver to be in the title conversation when the season began in March.

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Sam Wye

Sam Wye