Norris: McLaren has target on its back as rivals “talk…

“Nonsense”, “random” and “crap” – the three words Lando Norris used to describe recent comments made about McLaren by its rivals as the squad adjusts to life as the hunted rather than the hunter.

After ending a 26-year wait for a constructors’ championship last season, McLaren has continued where it left off – Norris winning in Australia before team-mate Oscar Piastri took victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

From the moment the McLaren broke cover in pre-season testing, much has been said of its perceived dominance over the rest of the pack. Norris and Piastri have also been labelled as favourites for the drivers’ title.

Mercedes’ George Russell has also enjoyed a strong start to 2025 but suggested recently that McLaren had a car that boasted a bigger advantage over the field than the Red Bull had previously and could win every race of the year.

Meanwhile, the likes of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and its driver Charles Leclerc have also had their say on McLaren’s gap to the other teams on the grid.

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

Lando Norris, McLaren (Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images)

Having taken over the mantle as F1’s team to beat, McLaren now has a large target painted on the back of its papaya cars.

Norris, however, insists the team is enjoying the new feeling of leading the way having completed a remarkable turnaround from being one of the slowest squads.

“I think if we go back one year ago, Red Bull were still a lot further ahead than we are now. The fact that they had two drivers up there dominating, they were a lot further ahead than we are now, so I think we're doing a very good job and I feel like people are talking about us a lot more now,” he said.

“I think it's because of where we've come from over the last year and a half, the deficit we've come from. But the car Red Bull had this time last year was a lot better than what we have now, compared to our competitors.

“I think you have to take that into account, but... I think we all feel good as a team, knowing that we have a strong car. It's not always the easiest car to drive, but a very strong car and the strongest car on the grid.

“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.”