Norris assesses title chances compared to Mercedes duo ahead of Spanish Grand Prix

Current World Champion Lando Norris has conceded that he does not think his McLaren car is good enough for him to retain his title - and that George Russell has the best chance of fighting Kimi Antonelli this season for the championship.

The British driver is 96 points adrift of the championship leader heading into the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, despite having two race wins under his belt in Budapest and Zandvoort.

However, Antonelli's imperious form this year – highlighted by his stunning win in Monza last time out – has seen the young Italian top the standings, with team mate Russell 66 points behind in second.

"[Russell] is 30 points ahead of me," Norris told media on Thursday in Madrid. "So George, I think, is still the one who has the best chance of trying to take the challenge to Kimi. Hamilton is still many points ahead of me as well."

Norris went on to explain that McLaren's performance in Monza – where he and team mate Oscar Piastri finished fourth and fifth – showed the team's car does not have pace at certain tracks.

"We have two wins in a row, so the car is good in some places," he said. "It’s just, like I said, not as good as it needs to be everywhere. And the only person that has a car that’s the same as Kimi is George. So I wish George the best in trying to fight Kimi."

With the Madring hosting an F1 Grand Prix for the very first time, all the drivers will head into the unknown as they tackle the circuit in real life on Friday.

For Norris, while he likened it to Jeddah, he explained that he wouldn't know if the track suited McLaren's car until he had ventured out for practice. Despite, the unknowns the Briton was still looking forward to the challenge.

"I think the whole track is quite challenging with how the corners are laid out — uphill, downhill, off-camber, camber," he said. "The whole track looks pretty exciting."

Like the rest of the drivers, Norris reckons it is going to be a tricky weekend in Madrid but he says it did not take him long to get his head around the new circuit in the simulator.

He continued: "It was okay, it took maybe three, four laps, I think, to know what to do in most places. Of course, then you figure out the smaller details. But I thought it would be harder, so it was actually okay, to be honest.

"It’s always different when you get on track and actually feel everything. The sense of speed is quite a big difference compared to a simulator."

For Norris' team mate Piastri, the Australian was also eager to see what the new Madring circuit had in store. However, he did concede it was going to be a demanding weekend ahead.

"Obviously there are quite a few high-speed corners, which on a street circuit is always... there are always just massive consequences with that," he said.

"The banking as well, I think, will be a big challenge, and then also just the compromise of what you need from the car.

"I think there are a lot of different types of corners here, a lot of kerbs you seem to need to use. So I think getting the compromise of things as well is going to be tough."