Lando Norris Once Aimed to Prove He Is as Good Charles Leclerc to Get to F1

Lando Norris Once Aimed to Prove He Is as Good Charles Leclerc to Get to F1

Back in 2017, Lando Norris was making a name for himself in Formula 3, while Charles Leclerc went on to win the F2 championship in his rookie season. Looking at Leclerc, Norris, who was just a teenager at the time, wanted to prove he was just as good as the Monagasque driver by also winning the Formula 2 championship as a rookie.

When asked if he saw 2018 as his big chance to move up to Formula 1, Norris was clear about his goals. He said, “Leclerc has done it this year, so if I want to beat or prove I’m just as good then I’m going to have to win [the title as a rookie].” Norris felt that anything less than winning the championship wouldn’t be good enough.

Leclerc had an amazing rookie season in F2, winning seven races and starting from pole position eight times with the Prema Racing team. Norris understood that winning the F2 title could open doors to Formula 1, just like it did for Leclerc.

Although Norris did not win the F2 title in 2018 [finished second], he received an F1 seat with McLaren in 2019. The Briton could have been lucky as he was already a reserve driver for McLaren in 2018, and so the Woking-based outfit were aware of his talents.

Norris and Leclerc have now turned into Formula 1 rivals

Fast forward to 2024 and both Norris and Leclerc are already great rivals. Norris is spearheading the F1 project for McLaren while Leclerc is for Ferrari.

Currently, Norris sits on 199 points and is second in the 2024 championship followed by Leclerc, who sits on 177 points. This wasn’t the case for the better part of the first half of the season as Leclerc was in second.

However, following the upgrade package McLaren introduced in Miami, they found immense performance, and it was this that helped Norris register some impressive results in the last few rounds.

After his win in Miami, the 24-year-old registered five more podiums in his last eight races and also had the chance to win three of them, had he or McLaren not made mistakes.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Charles Leclerc Lando Norris

About the author

Veerendra Vikram Singh

Veerendra Singh is a senior Formula 1 journalist at TheSportsRush, with a passion for the sport that goes back to 2008. His extensive coverage and deep understanding of the sport are evident in the more than 900 articles he has written so far on the sport and its famous personalities like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff, Charles Leclerc and more... When he's not at his work desk, Veerendra likes to spend time with his two feline friends and watch races from the Formula 1 and MotoGP archive. He is always up for a conversation about motorsport so you can hit him up anytime on his social media handles for a quick word.

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