Lando Norris may have received many plaudits for putting forth a decent effort in his first title fight against Max Verstappen in 2024. But deep down, the Briton knew that he lacked the edge that the reigning champion had, and the confidence that Verstappen carried despite being bogged down with a sub-par car.
The Briton had some great battles with Verstappen last year but often came up short as he did not really believe in himself that he could take the fight to the Dutchman. Norris got this realization at last year’s Las Vegas GP — the race that helped Verstappen seal his fourth consecutive title and end Norris’ hopes of winning his maiden championship.
“I probably wasn’t outright ready to go up against Red Bull and Max,” the McLaren driver said ahead of the race in Sin City. “I think I am now and it’s probably too late to do that”.
While Norris was not ready last year, he feels he has bridged that gap in his mind to fight for the championship this season, for which he is being labeled the favorite.
Verstappen’s defense against Norris was a masterclass. In a slower car with tyre offset and despite PU issues, he kept him behind
— Oracle RedBull Racing PowerUnit (@RedBullPU1) October 20, 2024
“The belief in myself that I can go up against the best,” Norris replied when asked on NBC what was the biggest lesson he learned after his battle with Verstappen last year. As they say, success gives one confidence and with the #4 driver clinching eight pole positions and securing four wins last season, he now knows what it takes to beat the best.
Norris will certainly need to be at his best this season if he is to win the championship as 2025 is expected to be the most competitive campaign, with it being the last year of the current regulations.
Who are likely to be Norris’ closest rivals?
While the threat of Verstappen can never be ruled out, he is unlikely to be Norris’ closest challenger — at least in the initial rounds — after Red Bull had an underwhelming pre-season test. Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has already admitted that his team’s test did not meet expectations and that they have a lot of work to do to get to the pace of McLaren.
While Norris expects Red Bull to eventually come good, he too acknowledged in his interview with NBC that Ferrari are likely to be McLaren’s “biggest competitors” after the way last season ended. McLaren won their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998 last year and beat Ferrari by just 14 points.
So, if Ferrari once again emerge as McLaren’s closest rivals this season, Norris is likely to face tough competition from the duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who many believe are the strongest driver pairing in 2025.
Furthermore, if the Woking stable are unable to address the rear instability in their MCL39 — an area Norris labeled as a weakness in the interview — the Briton is going to have a hard time this year getting the results he needs to have a good chance of fighting for the championship.
