In a recent interview, McLaren’s Lando Norris candidly opened up about his 2023 season. He referred to many occasions during the course of the season where he blamed himself for missing out on pole positions and race wins. With those missed opportunities, Norris tied equal with Germany’s Nick Heidfeld with most number of podiums (13) without a race win.
Norris picked apart his Qatar Grand Prix weekend in particular. He admitted that his own mistakes during qualifying for the sprint race, and the main Grand Prix cost him an iconic result for himself and the team.
He said to The Athletic (as quoted by F1Maximaal.nl),
“I don’t know how much faster Max (Verstappen) could have gone in qualifying. But if I’m honest with myself, I think I should have fought for two pole positions that weekend. And possibly two wins.”
Qatar was a realistic chance for Norris to defeat Verstappen & Co. as the Papaya team were on the up with a superbly developed MCL60. That being said, partly due to his mistakes and partly due to Verstappen’s consistent supremacy, he missed out on glory as Red Bull went on to dominate the weekend, just like they had in almost every race in 2023.
2024 could be Lando Norris’ biggest test yet
Since the 2023 Austrian GP, McLaren have looked like a strong team. This was despite the fact that they started the campaign on the back foot, finishing outside the points in the first two races. They clawed back, and almost got the better of the dominant Red Bull. This makes the Woking-based outfit and its fans optimistic about the 2024 season.
If McLaren does end up building a competitive car, the onus would be on Norris to ensure he extracts the maximum from his machinery. Furthermore, Oscar Piastri, his teammate is someone who will be ready to capitalize on any mistake Norris makes.
What would really rub Norris the wrong way would be that despite him remaining winless in the sport since his debut in 2019, his rookie teammate, Piastri went on to win the 2023 Qatar GP Sprint Race and even wrapped up the Rookie of the Year accolade at the FIA Prize Giving Gala.
