Norris's back-to-back wins leave Mercedes with 'a problem' if McLaren form holds at Monza

Lando Norris delivered back-to-back victories in the 2026 Formula 1 season with a dominant Dutch Grand Prix win at Zandvoort, crossing the line 11.5 seconds clear of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, with George Russell third. The result, built on a recent McLaren upgrade package, has prompted analyst Alex Brundle to warn that Mercedes could have a genuine title-race problem if the papaya cars maintain that form at Monza.

“You’ve got to say, though, we’re coming off a pair of circuits that are less energetically starved in the way that we saw Mercedes dominate at Silverstone and be really strong at Spa,” Brundle told F1 TV. “There are going to be those circuits coming, and that effect hasn’t gone away. It’s going to be interesting to see how this McLaren form, for example, rolls on into Monza. If it’s the same there, then I think Mercedes have got a problem on their hands.”

Brundle’s concern centres on circuit characteristics. Mercedes showed clear pace advantages at high-energy-demand tracks such as Silverstone and Spa earlier in the season, and the question now is whether those conditions will reassert themselves or whether McLaren’s upgrade has genuinely closed the gap across a wider range of venues.

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer is less alarmed about Mercedes’ prospects, pointing to a significant upgrade package the Brackley team is targeting for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. “Mercedes hit back in Canada where they moved again further away from the field. That was their only real big hit of upgrades. So, I’m hearing Baku is going to be their big chance,” Palmer said.

Palmer also noted that Monza’s unique low-downforce characteristics make it an outlier, and that the new Madrid circuit — appearing on the calendar for the first time — is an unknown for every team. He added that Norris’s championship deficit makes a title charge a long shot, despite the Briton’s outstanding individual performances.

“I don’t think they’re going to be losing sleep over Lando right now. He seems like he’s too far away,” Palmer said. “But for me, I think you could argue he’s the driver of the season. He’s put in so many top, top drives and now he has the car that he didn’t have earlier on, and he’s just smashing out the wins.”

Antonelli, meanwhile, continues to impress in his debut season with Mercedes, with Palmer highlighting the Italian teenager’s consistency as a key reason why the constructors’ picture remains firmly in the Silver Arrows’ favour despite Norris’s recent surge.