Lando Norris: My Influence at McLaren Allows Me to Be Assertive

Reigning world champion Lando Norris believes his recent contract extension with McLaren has placed him in a position where he can "be forceful to try to get what I want." Norris, who secured his maiden title in 2025, becoming McLaren's first world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008, has further solidified his standing within the Woking-based team. He has notably outperformed his teammate Oscar Piastri in the 2026 season.

The 26-year-old British driver's central role in McLaren's future was underscored by his contract extension, keeping him with the team until at least the end of 2030, with further options. Speaking to Sky Sports News, Norris reflected on his evolving influence within the team.

"You learn over the years when you should talk, when you shouldn't," Norris explained. "In terms of how much power you have as the driver and as an individual, in the first few years, you're not going to overstep any mark. I'm certainly not going to raise my voice above someone else, kind of thing."

"With time, you learn that my role is not simply just driving the car. It's also how can I be a leader, how can I lead the team, how can I be a voice for all the people that work here, all the guys and girls? How can I push them to do better, to be better? As well as pushing myself, of course. And how can we all work and do that as a team?"

Norris, who made his F1 debut with McLaren in 2019 and holds the team record for Grand Prix starts with 163, added: "I've just learned the power that I can have and influence I can have over directions that we work in as a team. Of course, I never want to abuse that, but at the same time, I know that I'm in a position where I can be forceful to try and get what I want, from a car, from the team, from people around me.

"And that's a very important thing. You've got to utilise that, I think, as an athlete, no matter what sport you're in. You've got to know how to try and get what you want as an individual.

"And I feel like I'm in a very good place right now with the people I have around me, my team, people we have in different positions, team leaders, all of those things, and the work ethic of the whole team, which is really the most important thing at the end of the day."

"I'm in a Similar Situation to Verstappen Last Year"

Despite a challenging start to the season for McLaren, upgrades to the MCL40 have seen Norris clinch the last two races in Hungary and the Netherlands, reigniting his championship defense. He is currently 83 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with 11 races remaining. Norris also needs to overtake George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the standings.

Comparisons have been drawn to the 2025 season, where Piastri initially led Norris but ultimately lost ground. Norris, who won the title by two points from Verstappen last year, commented on the possibility of a similar comeback:

"Just the fact that it's possible. Just the fact to keep believing, keep working hard, keep motivating the team in all the right ways. That's the biggest thing.

"He didn't do anything better than we were doing, apart from the fact we made some mistakes as a team in certain places."

Norris, who is currently 55 points ahead of his teammate Piastri, suggested that the team might be prioritizing his championship bid for the remainder of the season. He concluded: "There wasn't anything that we were doing wrong at the time. We just had two drivers fighting for our championship. They just had one.

"It's kind of a similar situation to what Mercedes are in now versus where I am.

"So, there's not a lot, I would say, to take from it, apart from just keep believing that it's possible until it's not. And that's the attitude we're going to fight with."