Lando Norris has clarified his claim that McLaren is the “only team” on the grid with “two good drivers”, adamant he wasn’t putting himself on a “pedestal” ahead of the likes of Lewis Hamilton.

Emerging as the team to beat this season having claimed back-to-back Grand Prix victories, McLaren are P1 in both championship races.

Lando Norris: I would never put myself on a pedestal

While Norris is eight points ahead of Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings, the Woking team is 21 points to the good on Mercedes in the teams’ battle.

It has rivals, led by George Russell, declaring McLaren could win every Grand Prix this season such is the MCL39’s advantage, which he believes is bigger than Red Bull’s ever was.

Norris, however, refuted this, saying McLaren’s advantage is not the car, it’s that the Woking team is the “only” outfit on the F1 2025 grid with “two good drivers”.

“People love to be saying that,” he said. “We are the only team that has two good drivers at the minute. That’s the big difference. If one of us was doing a lot worse, or one of us was not as strong. In the Sprint, Oscar was second or third and I was eighth.

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“You’d have that a lot more often, like you do with Ferrari and like you do with Red Bull. Max is up there, and you have the other driver a lot further back.

“So I think the fact we have two good drivers is honestly making the biggest difference. In certain cases, I don’t think we necessarily have the quickest car, whether it was the Sprint last weekend [in China], qualifying or the race.

“But the fact we have two good drivers pushing each other makes a bigger difference than people expect and take acknowledgement for.”

His comments raised a few eyebrows, especially given Ferrari’s line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Norris later clarified that he wasn’t elevating himself above Hamilton, but that the McLaren pairing is stronger at present as they have more experience with the team whereas Hamilton is new to Ferrari.

“The Ferrari one is obviously the experience, but just two drivers who understand the team, who have been at the team for a long time,” he said.

“Lewis is new to the Ferrari. He openly says he is still learning how to use a steering wheel – the complexity of the steering wheel, not just how to use one.

“So is he going to be able to get every last bit of it out of the car, comparing to what me and Oscar can? No, like he’s openly admitting to that.

“So it’s not that I think I’m much better than Lewis or Charles, because I don’t, and I always been the first to admit that. I would never put myself on a pedestal ever.

“But how we work as a team, I do think, is better than every other team, how we push each other and get more out of one another as two drivers..

“I also agree with better than any other team. So I think that’s our advantage.”

As for the Red Bull line-up, he simply said: “Yeah.”

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