Lando Norris has expressed confidence in the work McLaren has done heading into the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, even as two consecutive disappointing outings have left his title defence hanging by a thread. The defending champion, speaking at the Thursday press conference ahead of race weekend, acknowledged the issues but said he needs to get the car on track before drawing firm conclusions.

A Title Defence Under Pressure

Norris currently sits on 188 points, trailing championship leader Kimi Antonelli by a substantial 132 points. His season had shown genuine promise around the summer break — he won back-to-back races at the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix — but momentum has since stalled. He finished fourth in Italy and third at the Spanish Grand Prix, before a difficult stretch that included a retirement at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix following a multi-car collision, and then a disappointing sixth-place finish at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia.

What Norris Said at the Press Conference

Norris was candid about the nature of the problems McLaren has been working to resolve. 'There were some obvious (things), like straight-line speed and the issues I was having with the car. And also how we can unlock more performance from the car to get back to where we were, which is a tricky one. Baku we weren't too quick either, so it wasn't just a Malaysia thing,' he told reporters.

On his confidence in the team's response, he added: 'I'm hopeful, need to get [the car] on track first and see how it is. It's been a frustrating two weekends trying to figure out what the issue has been... It has cost me quite a lot. I'm confident the team has done a good job; they have put a lot of work into figuring things out, but I need to get out on track and see how it is first.'

Sprint Race Opportunity at Singapore

The Singapore GP is hosting the final Sprint race of the 2026 Formula 1 season, a format Norris believes suits his driving style. 'I think you don't have much time to get up to speed, and one of my strengths is to find the limits with not much time,' he said. 'It is a bigger challenge to get up to pace and figure out everything in one session. I enjoy that challenge, and I think I can make a bit of a difference (there) and hopefully capitalise.'

What This Means for the Championship

With 132 points separating Norris from Antonelli, a mathematical comeback remains possible but increasingly difficult. The Marina Bay Street Circuit, known for favouring precise, mechanical-grip-dependent setups and punishing any weakness in car balance, will be an early indicator of whether McLaren's technical work between races has delivered results. Notably, Singapore's unforgiving walls and low-speed corners mean that straight-line speed deficits — one of the issues Norris cited — matter somewhat less here than at high-speed tracks, potentially offering a brief window of relief for the McLaren camp.