Lando Norris hits out at F1 rivals for talking “crap” about McLaren

Lando Norris has described recent comments made by McLaren’s F1 rivals as “crap” and “nonsense”.

McLaren have backed up their favourites tag for both world championships in 2025 by winning the opening two rounds of the new season as they look to follow up their first constructors’ title in 26 years with further glory.

Their strong start to the campaign prompted Mercedes driver George Russell to claim that McLaren could go unbeaten and was so dominant they could already afford to fully switch focus onto 2026.

But early F1 championship leader Norris has once again moved to rubbish such talk.

“I think the people that say that, like the ‘unbeatable’ stuff... it's just nonsense. They just like to talk crap sometimes,” the Briton said ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

“It's your job as the media to figure out these things, I think, and not just listen to what everyone says and write what they say. You have to try and understand what they're saying and prove that what they're saying is a fact, rather than... I can just say a load of crap and you write it down.

“But it's up to you, I think, to get across the facts of what is true, and not just write nonsense that people like to say.

“If you go back one year ago, Red Bull was still a lot further ahead than we are now, you know.

“The fact that they had two drivers up there dominating, they were a lot further ahead than we are now. So I think, you know, we’re doing a very good job, and I feel like people are talking about us a lot more now.

“But I think it’s because of where we’ve come from, you know, over the last year and a half, where the deficit we’ve come from.”

McLaren have target on back

Norris feels McLaren have a “target” on their back but believes the team is relishing their new-found position as the hunted rather than the hunter.

“The car Red Bull had at this time last year was a lot better than what we have now, comparing to our competitors. So I think you have to take that into account,” he added.

“The target [on our back] is a nice thing, I think. We're still new to it. I mean, Mercedes had it for five, six years where they were the targets, so I think we've got a bit of time before we get to those kinds of numbers. So for now, it's still like a motivating thing. While we're at the front, we know that they're behind us, so it really pushes us.

“I think we've pushed even more into this season, to start the season off on the right foot, ending with a very good year last year. We want to still try and increase our advantage more than what it is now.

“It's a good thing for us and we know that people love to talk and just say random things and stuff that's not true. But I hope that you guys are the ones that figure out... you know, what the facts are.”

McLaren are 19 points clear of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, while Norris holds an eight-point advantage over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.