As the 2024 Formula One season continues to unfold, McLaren’s Lando Norris has emerged as one of the key challengers to Red Bull’s dominant Max Verstappen. In his media session ahead of the Azerbaijan GP, Norris opened up about his approach to the championship, his thoughts on performance, and his refusal to compromise his racing integrity, even when the stakes are high.
The 24-year-old was candid when asked about the hypothetical situation of losing the championship by a few points due to uncontrollable factors, and whether he would feel satisfied if he were handed the title through external decisions rather than on-track performance.
“Yeah, I mean I’m sure it will hurt,” Norris admitted, “but I don’t know, I’m also here to race, and if the driver is doing better than me, and I’m performing, it’s because they’re doing a better job.”
For Norris, it’s not about simply acquiring a title by any means necessary. His focus is on earning it through hard work and competition. “I wouldn’t want to take that away from someone, and I also don’t want to be given a championship,” he explained.
“Yes, it would be great to have a championship, and short term you’d feel amazing, but I don’t think you’d be proud of that in the long run. And that’s not something I want. That’s not how I want to win a championship.
“I want to win it by fighting against Max, by beating Max, beating my competitors, and proving that I’m the best on the track. That’s how I want to win.”
Norris’ 2024 season has been one of fluctuating fortunes. Despite McLaren’s impressive performances, especially in the second half of the season, the gap to Verstappen remains formidable. Since the Miami Grand Prix, Norris has lost nine points in the championship to the Dutch driver, a fact that has raised questions about McLaren’s ability to maximise their car’s potential.
When asked if he believed they hadn’t made the most of their opportunities, Norris disagreed.
“No, I think we’ve been maximising the potential of the car.
“There’s been different reasons for different things. So you can say that, and I know on average we’ve been the best car, but we’ve not been the best car at every single race this year, that’s clear.”
Norris was forthright about the errors McLaren has made, admitting that the team had lost points due to decision-making and mistakes.
“We know we’ve given away points by not making the right decisions and by making mistakes here and there, but Max is also doing a good job, and he’s fighting well, and he’s doing what he’s got to do.
“Could we have closed more? Yes. Did we? No. So it doesn’t matter. I have to close so many points, I’ve got to close now, and that’s my purpose.”
As the season edges closer to its conclusion, many are speculating on whether the championship is still realistic for Norris. With Verstappen maintaining a substantial lead, it seems like a monumental task for the young Briton to overhaul him. However, Norris remains pragmatic, if not overly optimistic, about his chances.
“Max is still leading by 60 something points,” he remarked.
“I mean, I have eight races to catch 60 something points, and it’s not easy to do that. Even if I win every race, it’s still not an easy thing to achieve.”
Norris was clear that Verstappen’s position remains significantly stronger than his own, believing Monza was an outlier performance-wise for the Milton Keynes-based team.
“I would much rather be in his position than in my position.
“At any point, as soon as Red Bull can figure out where they’ve gone wrong and what they’ve struggled with, they’re a team I expect within a few races to be fixing their problems and coming back strong again.
“So that might be his feeling there after one bad race. And I’m saying it’s only one bad race, it’s not like they’ve been that far off at every race this year. That was probably their worst race.
“But Max has still been not far off pole in many races. He’s still been close to winning many races. So it’s still easily possible for him.
In typical Norris fashion, he ended on a note of realism, pointing out that while Verstappen may express doubts, the Dutchman’s situation is still far from dire.
“I think he just says it to make himself probably feel a little bit better. Yeah, he’s still in a much stronger position than I am.”
