Norris: For now, the car doesn't allow us to fight for the title.

      Lando Norris won his second race in a row, and although the victory in Zandvoort was only McLaren's second such achievement this season, it was a convincing confirmation of the championship team's progress. The British driver does not deny this but tries to give everything a very realistic assessment...

      Question: Lando, now you have 13 wins – how highly do you rate this success?

      Lando Norris: Quite highly – at least from the perspective that this victory had to be fought for. Moreover, we made significant improvements compared to Saturday, because after the serious problems we had in the sprint, I was somewhat disappointed.

      I understand, it's just a sprint, but you know that every point counts, and we simply lacked pace. But last night we worked hard, I spent a lot of time with my engineers, and we tried to understand what could be done to allow for a more aggressive attack while also managing tire resources more effectively, and how to do everything better overall.

      Undoubtedly, I believe we succeeded today. Except for the start, as the beginning was somewhat chaotic and reminiscent of how events unfolded on Saturday. But when we switched to hard tires, the car came alive, and the race started to unfold as I needed it to.

      Question: Can you elaborate a bit on what exactly you were missing during the sprint?

      Lando Norris: It was just about the magnitude of the pace advantage and the realization that I could win. That wasn't there yesterday. I didn't think the car's pace would allow me to fight for the win, so I didn't have high hopes today despite starting from pole. After I got off the line, after the first lap and even the entire first segment, those hopes didn't increase.

      But I repeat, I know when the car is capable of giving me what I want. Moreover, I know when I'm performing at a high level, and I now understand that I can win races. And during the first segment of the race, I didn't feel that the car was working as I needed it to.

      After switching to Hard tires, we started to act more aggressively, managed to turn the situation around, and I got the feelings behind the wheel that I wanted to achieve.

      Kimi Antonelli started making many more mistakes when I was chasing him. We forced Mercedes to do something with their strategy. This allowed us to gain. Overall, when the car works as I need it to, when the tires allow me to drive confidently, when I can anticipate how I will take each corner, then I win races. But when that isn't the case, there's little I can do – that's how it was during the first segment.

      Question: When everything goes as it should, do you manage to reach a higher level in terms of driving?

      Lando Norris: Last year in the second half of the season, I really managed to reach a higher level. It's hard to say, but I think it's become more challenging to drive the car this year. I think it's visible from the outside, as this season the gap in results between teammates is often greater than in 2025.

      And I really believe that I analyze various situations better and understand the nuances of this car better. Driving it is still incredibly difficult, but I understand it better now and fully rely on my team, which is working on solving problems. So it's not just about me driving better.

      Definitely, I am correcting my shortcomings that manifest in my work on the track, and I don't have that many, but it also helps off the track. In my opinion, a perfect example of our work can be seen in the improvements we made in preparation for today's race, which allowed me to win.

      Question: To what extent do two consecutive wins boost your confidence ahead of the Monza stage?

      Lando Norris: Right now, I don't want to think about that. I just want to enjoy the moment again, after which I will rest for a few days. My confidence comes from having a good and effective car. It has its strengths, although it can't be compared to last year's – that one was good in every respect.

      At high speeds, the MCL40 behaves very confidently; it's in this area that we've made the most progress, surpassing everyone – and that's good. In turns 7 and 8, I had a very large advantage compared to Mercedes, but they are much faster than us in the slow sections of the lap.

      So I can't confidently say that I will be able to calmly fight for the championship win in the remaining stages of the season. I know that I've only won two races in a row and secured two poles in a row, but for now, the car doesn't allow me to contend for the title.

      I understand that this is quite a serious statement, but I believe that last year I understood what I needed from the car and what depended solely on me. I know what level I'm at now, I know what results I can achieve. And I know which tracks we will definitely have more problems on, and that's exactly what I don't want.

      So I just do my part of the job, and the team continues to work hard, not relaxing, by no means resting on its laurels, and putting in more effort than ever before. Even more than in the previous two years when we won the championship.

      And if we manage to improve the car's behavior at low speeds, then I will have confidence that we can win all the remaining races of the season.

      Question: You just mentioned the car's weaknesses – does that mean that to fix them, the team needs to implement some specific technical innovations? Is there hope that the shortcomings can be corrected, as it seems that some of them the team is already successfully addressing?

      Lando Norris: Partly yes. But in the last sector of the lap, we still had difficulties. Undoubtedly, our weaknesses are most noticeable in narrow and twisty sections. In the parts of the lap where the combinations of corners are more organic, we are not doing too badly.

      We need to understand how I should act behind the wheel to optimize everything, what can be achieved through setup work, and what can be achieved through innovations that we should receive soon. But since we recently received a large package of updates, we will have to wait for the next improvements. At the same time, I believe that we need to pay special attention to certain areas.

      Question: Kimi Antonelli stated that the Mercedes car is no longer the fastest, while George Russell says that the McLaren team is now stronger than anyone. Are they saying this to put more pressure on you, or how do you perceive it?

      Lando Norris: Well, they wouldn't admit it, would they? Mercedes remains the strongest team, even if we beat them today. I believe that if I hadn't managed to overtake Kimi at the right moment, I don't think I would have been able to win this race...

      Of course, I am not inclined to overestimate my own achievements – usually, it's quite the opposite. But if I allow myself to speak well of my results, it means I really believe that I am doing the job better than anyone else. Undoubtedly, our car now allows us to overtake Mercedes.

      I put in a lot of effort to drive even better. I want to believe more than anyone in our ability to win, and today we managed to turn the tide. I would say that our car's capabilities have almost matched those of Mercedes, but overall their W17 still surpasses McLaren.

      But if I had made even one mistake in yesterday's qualifying, I wouldn't have been able to win the race, and then we wouldn't be discussing these topics today. Overall, people are talking about McLaren right now because I am doing my job well.