Lando Norris knows that the drivers’ title is now firmly in Max Verstappen’s hands, and McLaren can only focus on the Constructors’ Championship. Nevertheless, the English driver is convinced of a particular condition that, if the roles had been reversed, would have written a different story.
In fact, after the poor performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, McLaren’s number 4 driver saw his hopes for the drivers’ title sharply diminished, with the Dutchman now holding a significant lead. Lando Norris’ focus now seems to be entirely on the battle with Ferrari, which is only 36 points ahead with just three races until the end of the 2024 Formula 1 campaign.
Drivers’ championship lost because of Lando Norris?
“I wasn’t ready at the start of the year to fight with Verstappen, that’s the truth. This is my first year where I’ve had the opportunity to fight for the title and I haven’t always been ready. I needed more experience to keep up with Max,” says Lando Norris ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.
Max Verstappen already has three Formula 1 World Championships and has a much different level of experience compared to the Englishman. “Now, however, I feel like I’ve improved a lot and I’m much more ready to fight for a World Championship. But they had a significant initial advantage.” In short, Verstappen really decided the drivers’ title in the first part of the season.
Despite this, Lando Norris is confident he has done a good job. Not only that, he remains adamant that no one, not even Verstappen, the driver he considers “the benchmark” for his generation and “one of the best of all time,” would have done what he has not been able to do.
So, when the Telegraph asks him if he thinks Verstappen would have won this title if he had driven for McLaren, he responds without much hesitation: “No, I really don’t think so.” This suggests that McLaren was not really ready to fight either. After all, for the Woking-based team, this was their first season at a high level after years.
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