Reigning world champion Lando Norris has fired a cheeky dig at Formula 1 rival George Russell by claiming the Mercedes driver ‘tries to be seen as the good guy, but knows what he’s doing’ ahead of the season opener in Melbourne this weekend.

Norris believes his side are currently third in the rankings with Russell’s McLaren the quickest car on the grid, followed by Ferrari after the pre-season testing and changes in regulations. Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull are behind the trio, with the Dutch driver not happy with his current car set up.

Norris is relishing defending his crown and believes Russell is a ‘sneaky’ competitor on the grid with the two set to do battle in Australia this weekend.

“George always knows what he’s doing,” defending champions Norris told the Daily Mail. “He tries to look the good guy. But he’ll do what he needs to do, in a sneaky way at times. But I think a lot of him. He is a very, very good driver. He’ll play the game whenever he has to play the game. I mean, he’s smart. He sometimes tries to come across like he’s not.

“I don’t know who is the sneakiest driver. George is just a smart driver. George, Max, and Lewis, as well. One is a seven-time world champion, one is Max, and George is certainly up there in terms of intelligence.

“He is always switched on, which is a strength. There is always a reason to put your car here or there or to do this or that. They are not clumsy drivers. They are clever like that.

“As for us at McLaren, we didn’t look the quickest last year in pre-season testing in Bahrain. And then we turned up to Australia and we were very good. Just wait and see. We are in the top four teams so we know we’re in a good world. As long we’re in a fight, then it’s a long season.”

Norris would reflect on last season’s title win and his own mental state ahead of the 2026 season. He said: “Everyone is born different. And people act differently. Some guys are full of confidence. They can be overconfident, too.

“Others are quietly confident. Others are in the middle. And there are others who aren’t confident. On that scale, at the beginning of last season I was in the middle, to under that. Do I believe I am a very good driver and can fight to be one of the best in the world? Yes. But to fight to be the best and to be No1 is very difficult if you are in that under-confident group.

“My lowest point came in the run-up to Monaco at the end of May last year (after a run of six inconsistent races). I started working on things a lot more behind the scenes (on his mental state) ahead of the race in Zandvoort, mid-season – and also working with the team here at McLaren, on my driving and car set-up.

“Some of it was trying not to question myself going into qualifying, just because my mind is always active. There were times I deleted Instagram, and I didn’t want to see what people were saying about me.

“In some ways this was easy. But I have always cared about how I come across. Sometimes I wanted to see what people said about me. But I deleted it all from my phone, so I could concentrate on the stuff I needed to concentrate on and not get distracted.”