Norris credits his driving, not the MCL40, after back-to-back wins in Budapest and Zandvoort

Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Sunday to claim back-to-back victories — following his win in Budapest — but the reigning world champion is not ready to concede that McLaren has overtaken Mercedes at the top of the 2026 constructors’ pecking order.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who finished second at Zandvoort, said Mercedes is “clearly” behind McLaren after the race, a view shared by George Russell, who crossed the line third. When those assessments were put to Norris, he was unconvinced.

“Well, they’re not going to say themselves, are they?” Norris said. “So they’re the team to beat even if they just got beaten today, so I don’t think it’s true. I think if I didn’t get Kimi when I overtook him, I don’t think I would have won the race today.”

Norris went further, offering a rare moment of self-promotion. “For once I would give myself a little bit of credit that I feel like I’m doing a better job than everyone, and I think that can also make a difference.”

The 2026 season has been a study in contrasts for McLaren. The heavily-upgraded MCL40 went winless in the opening ten rounds, a period in which Mercedes dominated — winning the first six races from pole. Since then, Ferrari and McLaren have closed the gap, with McLaren taking two of the last three victories.

Norris pointed to the Zandvoort sprint race as evidence that the car alone does not explain McLaren’s recent form. Russell won that event from pole while Norris only narrowly held off Antonelli for third, with the Italian starting fifth after sustaining floor damage. “We didn’t win yesterday and we didn’t really change much,” Norris said. “But I worked a lot on my driving. I want to believe more than everyone else again, and we turned things around today.”

His own assessment of the machinery was measured. “We certainly have a very similar car, I would say, all in all, to Mercedes, but I think they have a better all-round performing car than what we do.”

The internal McLaren numbers support Norris’s claim of a performance edge over his team-mate. Oscar Piastri finished sixth in the Netherlands and sits seventh in the drivers’ standings, 55 points behind fourth-placed Norris. The Briton also leads their qualifying head-to-head 13-4, including sprint qualifying sessions.

Despite his form — Norris is now a 13-time grand prix winner — he remains 86 points behind Antonelli in the championship, leaving him outside the title fight for now. Whether that gap can be closed may depend less on further car upgrades and more on whether Norris can sustain what is arguably the finest driving spell of his career.