‘If anyone can bounce back, it’s him’ – New champion Norris ‘would love’ to battle with Hamilton in 2026

Lando Norris would welcome the prospect of having more battles with Lewis Hamilton in 2026, with the McLaren driver backing the seven-time World Champion to bounce back following a tough year.

The 2025 campaign marked Hamilton’s debut for Ferrari and proved to be a tricky campaign for the Briton, a season in which he failed to stand on the podium for the first time in his F1 career.

Norris, meanwhile, became McLaren’s first Drivers’ Champion since Hamilton in 2008, meaning that he will be defending his title in 2026.

With the season ahead posing some unknowns amid the introduction of new technical regulations, Norris hopes to have the opportunity to fight against several of his rivals – including Hamilton.

“We've had a good amount of battles already,” the 26-year-old told Sky Sports F1. “I would love to race a bit more with Lewis.

“Obviously, Ferrari struggled a lot more this year than I think everyone was expecting. Lewis has proved himself to be probably the best of all time. Everyone knows if anyone can bounce back from difficult years, it's Mr Hamilton, and I would love to race against him more.”

Norris has relished the chance to compete against Hamilton during his time in the sport, as well as other World Champions and reputable names.

“It's always a privilege that I get to race against someone that is the best in the world,” the British driver said. “You have got a good amount of those guys. You have Fernando [Alonso], Lewis, Max [Verstappen].

“There's a lot of us that want to climb in the footsteps of these other guys. George [Russell] and Oscar [Piastri] are two of those and there's so many guys on the grid.”

While the new rules may present a degree of uncertainty, Norris is embracing the possibility of others trying to challenge him for the championship.

“Next year, everyone's got an opportunity,” he explained. “Everyone's looking forward to it. People want to come to take my crown, and I want to try to retain it. And I look forward to that battle."