Norris warns Ferrari's chassis superiority will "embarrass" F1 field if engine gap closes

Lando Norris has issued a stark warning about Ferrari’s growing threat in the 2026 Formula 1 season, saying the Scuderia would “embarrass everyone” if they close the engine deficit that is currently holding them back from outright dominance.

Norris finished third at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, behind race winner Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, a result that underlined the shifting competitive order after Ferrari arrived with a heavily upgraded package. Mercedes had won the opening six races of the season through Russell and Kimi Antonelli before Hamilton ended that run in Spain.

“We’re lucky that Ferrari don’t have a better engine at the minute,” Norris said. “If they had a better engine, they’re dominating. They’re the class of the field in terms of cornering performance at the minute and we’re not even close to them.”

The McLaren driver was candid about the scale of the challenge facing his team. “It’s the realistic point of it, we’re a long, long way from where we need to be,” he added. “If they make improvements on the engine side, then they’ll embarrass everyone. We need to really get our heads down and see what improvements we can do.”

Ferrari is widely believed to hold the strongest chassis on the 2026 grid, but recent ADUO power unit assessments suggest it is over 4% behind the benchmark set by Red Bull, with Mercedes sitting 2-4% back. Under the 2026 regulations, that deficit earns Ferrari two upgrade tokens — a potential gamechanger if deployed effectively.

Norris’ third place in Barcelona was also aided by circumstance: Antonelli retired late in the race and Charles Leclerc crashed during Q3, limiting Ferrari’s potential points haul. Despite that, the gap between McLaren and the top two was stark.

Team-mate Oscar Piastri, who finished fifth and crossed the line 59 seconds behind Hamilton, echoed the concern. “Us and Ferrari have been very close for the first part of the year,” Piastri said. “The last couple of weekends they were probably a bit of a step ahead. But this weekend, with all their new parts, they’re working well.”

For Norris, the urgency is clear. “Everyone back in the factory is doing the best they can. Some things take time, but we need to really accelerate the progress at the minute because we want to stay in the fight.”