2024 has been Lando Norris’ best season to date and he is gearing up for a title charge against Max Verstappen. With that, however, also comes the pressure. As Norris heads into the British GP weekend hoping to win his second race of the season, former McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen has a message for the local fans.
Hakkinen feels that even though British drivers Lewis Hamilton (a seven-time World Champion) and George Russell will be on the grid this weekend, Norris is the driver who the fans should back the most. On his blog on Unibet, Hakkinen wrote,
“If the huge number of fans are hoping for a home win on Sunday, they should look to Lando Norris for McLaren. He could have won in Spain and Austria, so in my opinion, his second win of the season is not far away.”
In Spain, Norris put Verstappen under a lot of pressure, but couldn’t get close enough. Austria, however, was a different story altogether.
Not only did Norris and Verstappen duel, but it gave birth to a budding rivalry. The Red Bull driver took Norris out while aggressively defending from him on lap 64, ending the latter’s race. It led to tensions between the two friends in the aftermath, with Norris even hinting at their friendship being at jeopardy.
“Have you and Max spoken since last Sunday?”
Over to you, Lando #F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/aIPldVrbZb
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2024
Since then, things have calmed down. The 24-year-old admitted that emotions got the better of him in Spielberg last weekend, but heading into Silverstone, Norris will be looking to stand on top.
Lando Norris’ chances of maiden home win
McLaren arguably has the fastest car in F1 at the moment, but Verstappen’s RB20 keeps getting the better of Norris. Most of it is down to mistakes made by the Briton and his team, but with time, they are expected to fade away.
LAP 64/71
Amazing scenes!
Norris and Verstappen make contact at Turn 3
Both drivers have punctures after clashing… and George Russell has taken the lead!!! #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/0GtTwPXd6N
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
The 2024 British GP will be Norris’ first real opportunity to win in front of home fans. And while the task of dueling Verstappen in Silverstone is daunting, Norris will look to rely on his car’s outright pace.
At the same time, he will be hoping to avoid incidents like Spielberg last weekend, which ends his race and nulls his points haul completely.
