Lando Norris believes world champions McLaren currently trail Ferrari and Red Bull with four days of pre-season testing left.

McLaren, which won both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships last year and will take the latter crown in 2024, appears to have made a solid start with its new MCL40 car at the start of a new era of F1 chassis and engine regulations.

Norris holds the second fastest time in the week’s first Bahrain test heading into Friday’s final day, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while the 149 laps he completed on Thursday were the most of any driver.

However, while he is confident the defending two-time champions will continue to get better, he believes they have made up for their two biggest rivals early on.

talking sky sports “We did a lot of laps but we definitely weren’t fast enough,” Norris said after Thursday’s race, his last day in the car this week.

“We still have a lot to work on and try to improve.

“I think today was the first glimpse of where we stand in terms of speed, at least with Ferrari in a full-on long race.

“We’re not very close to them at the moment. We’re certainly good, but we’re not fast enough.

“It’s still just testing and we know there’s a lot of things we can improve and work on already so there’s nothing to worry about, but it’s been a productive day for the team and myself and that’s the most important thing.”

Speaking to written media, Norris also highlighted the strength of Red Bull – which has partnered with Ford to produce its own engines for the first time – to perform well in testing so far.

“On paper they have a very good power unit,” said Norris, who Mercedes’ Toto Wolff described on Wednesday as the team’s current “benchmark” for 2026.

“They deploy and have high efficiency (through their engine energy management).

“We need to understand how they do it. There are always things that I can do a little bit, there are things that we can do on the McLaren side, but there are also things that McLaren, the HPP (Mercedes High Performance Powertrain) side and Mercedes can do and I think they know that there are definitely areas where we need to improve.

“But Red Bull seems to be doing very well and the Ford powertrain seems to be very strong. It’s fair game for them. But, at the moment they are one step ahead of us.”

Oscar Piastri will race in MCL40 after Friday’s training as F1’s expanded winter testing program gets its final three days of testing in Bahrain starting on Wednesday, live Sky Sports F1.

Norris added: “I know we’re going to improve and we’re going to move forward, but I’m sure they are too.

“So, yes, we have to wait and see. There’s no point in trying to guess at these things.

“We’re going to do our best and maximize our efforts. But we’ve got a big step to go to be confident of beating them, that’s for sure.”

Formula One’s 24-round season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6 to 8, when Norris will begin the defense of his maiden world title.

Sky Sports F1 Bahrain test schedule

Test 1: Friday 13th February

• 3 p.m.: Last hour of live track and field events
• 8pm: Test ends
• 8.30pm: Ted’s Test Notebook

Test 2: Wednesday, February 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday, February 20th

• 6.50am-11.05am: Morning live broadcast
• 11.55am-4.10pm: Afternoon live broadcast
• 8pm: Test ends

Stream every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8. Watch Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime