Lando Norris is facing the possibility of ending his first season as reigning Formula 1 world champion with a result not seen since 1997. The McLaren driver has struggled to replicate his championship-winning form in 2026 and could become the first defending champion in 29 years to finish outside the top five in the Drivers' standings.

The Briton currently sits sixth with 201 points, having fallen 139 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli. With six Grands Prix remaining, his immediate challenge is to move further up the standings rather than retain the title he secured in 2025.

Charles Leclerc occupies fifth place, 14 points ahead of Norris, while Max Verstappen holds fourth with a 20-point advantage over the McLaren driver. George Russell is 37 points clear of Norris, with Lewis Hamilton also among the drivers ahead of him.

Norris faces prospect of matching Damon Hill's 1997 campaign

Hill remains the last reigning Formula 1 world champion to finish a season outside the championship's top five. After winning the 1996 title with Williams, the British driver joined Arrows for 1997 and ended that campaign in 12th place.

Several world champions have experienced difficult seasons immediately after winning the title, but none who remained on the grid have finished lower than fifth since Hill. Jacques Villeneuve ended his 1998 campaign in fifth, while Lewis Hamilton occupied the same position in 2009 after becoming champion with McLaren the previous year.

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Jenson Button also finished fifth in 2010, having joined McLaren following his championship triumph with Brawn GP. Sebastian Vettel repeated that result in 2014, when his run of four consecutive world titles came to an end at Red Bull.

Nico Rosberg is an exception to that sequence, as the German retired from Formula 1 immediately after winning the 2016 championship with Mercedes. Unlike Hill, Norris has remained with the same team that took him to the title, making his current position a different situation from the one faced by the former Williams driver.

McLaren performance leaves Norris with work to do

Norris has taken victories in Hungary and the Netherlands this season, but those results have not been enough to keep him in contention at the top of the championship. McLaren's inconsistent competitiveness has contributed to the gap between the Briton and the leading drivers.

The Brit was also involved in an incident with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. The two drivers collided in the Sprint while battling for fourth position, sending both cars into a spin. Piastri was forced to retire after hitting the barriers, while Norris managed to continue and eventually finished eighth.

The stewards investigated the incident but decided that neither driver was predominantly responsible, taking no further action. Norris later apologised to the team, while Piastri confirmed that they discussed what happened. In Sunday's Grand Prix, Norris finished fourth, one position ahead of his Australian team-mate.

There are still 150 points available across the remaining six races, leaving Norris with a mathematical opportunity to improve his championship position. His 14-point deficit to Leclerc means fifth place remains within reach, although the McLaren driver will need to outperform his rivals during the closing stages of the season.