Norris: It's impossible to always be the best in everything.

      Lando Norris at the FIA press conference on Thursday spoke not only about what his team is expecting this weekend but also about the events of the Chinese Grand Prix, where due to technical issues, neither of the McLaren cars was able to start.

      However, despite all the difficulties, the reigning world champion is confident that McLaren is capable of bouncing back...

      Lando Norris: "Together with the Mercedes engine specialists, we figured out the reasons for the problems, although it took some time. Of course, the team took it hard, as we didn't look good when neither car started the race.

      It’s even more frustrating that what happened was out of our control, but together with the HPP specialists (Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains), we tried to understand exactly what happened and why. Of course, all measures have been taken to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

      But we live and learn, although no one wants a weekend to go so poorly, especially since that’s how Sunday started. Overall, we were very disappointed, but at the same time, we learned a valuable lesson.

      The MCL40 car has good potential, although, of course, we are not at the level we want to be. But if you ask me what I would prefer – to be in this situation after winning the title last year, or to have a more effective car now but not win that championship, my answer is known in advance.

      It’s impossible to always be the best in everything, but together with the team, we know what we can achieve, and now is the time to prove what we are capable of in the face-off against Ferrari and Mercedes, who are performing very well right now. We are gradually making progress, although it takes time to achieve improvements in certain areas.

      It cannot be said that we are doing poorly – after all, we are the third-best team in the championship. Although, of course, we would prefer to be first rather than third. Time will tell how events will unfold, but we are preparing a number of technical innovations and want to return to the leading positions.

      I don’t remember how many points we were behind Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull in 2024 – I think it was about 150 or so – but we managed to catch up and won the Constructors' Cup. I don’t know how much we are losing now, although it’s quite a lot – however, I believe we are not thinking about the championship for now. First, we need to focus on regularly getting back on the podium, and then try to win races, and then the situation will correct itself.

      The team has a confident mindset, we believe in our abilities, as we won the Constructors' Cup for two consecutive years, and last year we also won the title because we managed to create the best car in the championship. I have no doubt that we can do it again in 2026. We just need to be patient, and I believe in our team."