Lando in trouble
The Formula 1 World Championship wears out those who don’t win it, one might say, paraphrasing the famous phrase referring to power and attributed to Giulio Andreotti. But perhaps, in certain cases, the stress of the Circus wears out even more those who reach the top and perhaps cannot best manage all the attention they receive once they have achieved a lifelong goal. This could be what is happening to Lando Norris, reigning world champion, in this first phase of the 2026 season.
Read more Drivers and Teams Standings after the Croatia Rally 2026
This interesting interpretation was suggested by F1 TV commentator Alex Jacques, who, during an analysis published on Formula 1’s official YouTube channel, which examined the performance of each of the 11 teams on the grid at the start of this season, expressed perplexities about Norris’s performance. The Englishman has not yet reached the podium, becoming the first reigning world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2009 not to achieve even a top-3 finish in the first three GPs of the year. Furthermore, in the standings, he currently has only four points more than Oscar Piastri, despite his Australian teammate not having participated in the first two Grands Prix of the year, while Norris missed ‘only’ the Shanghai race due to technical problems.
Too many events, no rest
Jacques’ impression is that Norris ‘pushed himself too hard’ during the winter, participating in all post-title celebratory events without dedicating enough time to rest and physical recovery. “He accepted all the invitations he received as world champion – Jacques observed – and enjoyed his status as world champion. But if you do this and then you already have the first shakedowns at the end of January, you don’t have a real winter break“. Supporting this reasoning are also the words spoken by Norris himself in Barcelona, when the Englishman admitted that he would have liked a longer winter break.
Read more BMW i7, new battery together with Rimac
According to Jacques, another problem for Norris would be related to the poor understanding of the new technical regulations: “At times, observing him in the paddock, he seemed like a somewhat tired driver who still has a lot to learn about these regulations. I believe there are different levels of motivation in the paddock for different drivers,” concluded the F1 TV commentator. It remains to be seen now whether this forced break, imposed by the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, may have somehow helped the McLaren champion to recover physical and mental energy.
Read more Changes to regulations, Stella insists: “We must also make starts safer”
