Dutch Grand Prix: Lando Norris Holds Out Hope Of Catching Max Verstappen With Mclaren Upgrades

Ahead of the Formula One campaign resuming this weekend, Norris sits 78 points behind Max Verstappen in the individual standings, with 10 races remaining in the season.

Red Bull will also be feeling the pressure in the Constructors' Championship, as McLaren sit just 42 points behind.

And Norris remains confident that both he and McLaren remain in sight of titles this season.

"For the teams' championship, of course. For the drivers' championship, it's still in reach but it's a lot of points and it's Max, so I want to be optimistic and say there's still chances," he said.

"I know it's a lot and it's going to be a very difficult challenge performing, but how we are performing and how I know I can perform when things click, I still want to believe."

Both Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri have achieved their maiden race victories this season.

They have 12 podium finishes between them so far, with McLaren represented in the top three for the last 10 races.

Norris, however, has registered some disappointing finishes. Most recently he failed to take advantage of Verstappen's grid penalty?with a fifth-placed finish in Belgium.

"I'm fighting for a championship, so I'm not going to be happy if I'm not performing at the level that I need to, to beat Max, Red Bull and other drivers,"?he reflected.

"I'm still happy with how the season has gone, just one or two too many mistakes and too many points given away, which is not the level I need to be at if I want to fight for a championship and fight against a driver like Max."

McLaren will be hoping to make up for any mistakes with their new upgrades for the back half of the season.

While Red Bull and Ferrari have both struggled after the introduction of big upgrades, Norris believes his team's?decision to wait longer to implement theirs will pay off.

"We haven't had an upgrade since Miami. We have added little things to the car but nothing that we call an 'upgrade',"?he explained.

"A lot of other teams have done, especially our main competitors. In a good sense, we have taken our time to understand things.

"We have seen teams put things on the car and it hasn't worked. We wanted to make sure we avoided that, so we have been patient."