Norris: This season we have no excuses and nothing to hide behnd

McLaren secured their first Constructors' Championship since 1998 last year, but Norris finished as runner-up to Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings. The Briton admitted that Red Bull’s dominance in the opening five races left him with too much ground to recover.

Norris had a lot to say to reporters ahead of the F1 75 LIVE event in London at O2 Arena on Tuesday: "After last year I think we kind of have no excuses, I guess. In the past we've had our fair share, but honest and true excuses. I think this year we kind of don't have any, we have nothing to hide behind. We proved last year we have everything we need and everything it takes to fight at the top and be the best.

"If we're not at the beginning of the season then we're just not good enough and we've not done a good enough job, but that's certainly not how we're thinking of things, that's not how our mentality's been. We ended the season and I guess as we've ended the season, our next season has already started. For all the guys and girls back in the factory, it's giving us a car which can compete."

"A lot of what Formula 1 is, is having a car that can compete. I think we both as drivers proved a lot last year in ourselves and in each other of what we're capable of doing, and when we do have a car that's capable of fighting for wins and championships, we're able to maximise it," reckoned Norris.

McLaren have already completed a shakedown of their 2025 car at Silverstone last week, ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain on 26-28 February.

Norris continued: "I think we'll probably both say we're ready and we're excited for that challenge, but we also have a whole team behind us who are also excited. They know they're capable of making a quick car, so we're excited for this challenge this season.

"Maybe in the past we've got ahead of ourselves at times before pre-season, so we're definitely not doing that, but we're quietly confident that we can start this season off in the best way and much better than we've done over the last six or seven years."

Norris also warned that dismissing Lewis Hamilton’s chances in 2025 "is a bit silly" as the seven-time world champion prepares for his first season with Ferrari.

After finishing runner-up to Verstappen in 2024, Norris enters the new campaign as one of the bookmakers' favourites to challenge for the title.