Norris responds to Russell's championship suggestions.

      "That’s not the mindset to adopt"

       By GMM

       19 March 2025 - 10:47

      

      McLaren should not take George Russell’s advice to stop development on its leading 2025 car. This perspective comes from world championship leader Lando Norris, as Russell, driving for Mercedes, believes McLaren is now well-positioned to maintain that lead this season.

      "McLaren has such a substantial lead over the others that they could stop development and focus entirely on 2026," Russell had said in Melbourne. "If you start the year with a six-tenths advantage, no one can overcome that."

      Every team in the paddock is deliberating the challenge of enhancing their current car for this season, while simultaneously developing a completely new platform for the significantly different 2026 regulations.

      Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko left Melbourne feeling hopeful that McLaren’s current advantage could diminish over the first 3-5 races of 2025.

      "Max (Verstappen) was three tenths off in qualifying," Norris remarked after winning the Australian GP. "Last year, we were further behind and still ended up with the best car by the season's end.

      "I understand George made some remarks about focusing solely on 2026," he continued. "If that’s their (Mercedes’) mindset, great, but that’s not the approach to take. Sorry, mate.

      "We understand we still have significant work to do on this year’s car. If you become complacent in this position, you risk failure. In Formula 1, if you start thinking everything is fine and dandy, that’s when you get overtaken."

      Russell, however, responded: "They seem to be looking pretty good and dandy at the moment. So yeah - we’ll see."