Lando Norris finds himself in a title battle for the first time since joining McLaren in 2019. This has put him under a lot of pressure, something he hasn’t been able to respond to as well as he would have liked. F1 expert Mark Hughes highlighted the same in his article for The Race.
Hughes pointed out how with a car that is capable of competing for the World Championship, Norris should ideally have done better. But he does not put the blame on Norris. Instead, he highlights the timing of Norris’ title charge.
“From the moment that McLaren’s Miami update coincided with Norris’s first victory, he’s had a car that’s competitive everywhere,” Hughes wrote. “But by that time, he was a long way behind Max Verstappen’s points score. So his season evolved into a title fight relatively gently.”
Because of the same, Norris had to change his approach and mindset midway into the campaign, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. Plus, the added pressure to dethrone Max Verstappen, a driver who won three world titles in a row heading into 2024, was not easy to deal with.
“I did nothing wrong” – Lando Norris#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/htYFBHkZOb
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
Hughes feels that the ‘spotlight’ being on Norris didn’t help. Plus, Verstappen — with his aggressive nature of driving — made life difficult for the Bristol-born driver.
Does Norris have a chance of winning?
With six races to go, Norris is 52 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship standings. It is a gap that should ideally have been lesser, considering McLaren has had the fastest car on the grid since the Miami GP earlier this year.
With three Grand Prix wins, Norris has kept the pressure on Verstappen. At the same time, even winning every single race for the rest of the season may not be enough for the McLaren star to secure his first title win, as long as Verstappen finishes P2 in them all.
That is where the Briton would need his teammate Oscar Piastri’s help. If the Aussie can get some points off Verstappen, Norris’ wins would have more value, and he could stand tall come the end of the campaign.
