With Lando Norris struggling to establish himself as the number one driver in the eyes of McLaren, he has been asked to take a page out of Lewis Hamilton’s book. Roles aren’t clearly defined between him and teammate Oscar Piastri, which is why The Race‘s expert Ben Anderson wants Norris to take matters into his own hands.
Hamilton was teammates with Bottas from 2017 to 2021, and often, Bottas would start the season stronger. However, Hamilton would consistently raise his game, improve, and ultimately outshine Bottas, naturally compelling the team to prioritize him.
Norris on the other hand, failed to build a gap between himself and Piastri, despite McLaren’s rapid development. Anderson pointed out on The Race F1 podcast, “As the McLarens become a better machine and a winning machine, Piastri’s grown with that.”
“I think that’s another element that’s important because that’s what Norris should be doing,” he added. “You know, it’s what Lewis always did. Bottas was number two, but he wasn’t contractually number two.”
Overtake #298:
Oscar Piastri on Lando Norris (2024 Italian Grand Prix) pic.twitter.com/T1Vb4xghhc— OvertakeCentral (@OvertakeCentral) September 3, 2024
Bottas tried his best to keep up with Hamilton but was unable to do so. This took a significant toll on his confidence until he eventually settled into the role of playing second-fiddle to the Briton within the team.
Anderson believes that this should have been the case with Norris too, given his experience in the sport, and with McLaren. He has been a part of the setup for over five years, but still, Piastri looks more comfortable. The MCL38 has also suited Piastri more, which has made Norris’ life difficult.
The 24-year-old needs to turn this situation in his favor, much like Hamilton did.
However, Hamilton’s dominance over his teammate at Mercedes did come with a downside.
Hamilton almost made Bottas quit
Bottas mentally struggled to cope with having Hamilton as his teammate—that’s how good the Briton was. After leaving the Brackley-based team in 2022, Bottas admitted that feeling inferior to Hamilton even led him to consider quitting F1 altogether
He said, as per ESPN “At the end of 2018 I almost stopped. It was so close. Just because of the fact I couldn’t understand and take in the fact I couldn’t beat Lewis in those two years.
Bottas added that he put a lot of pressure on himself. “Towards the end of ’18, especially when I started to have the support role, I really couldn’t take it…”
However, Bottas did not quit. He regained his self-belief and returned in 2019 with a much more positive mindset. That season, he even secured four race wins, including the season opener in Melbourne, but his main focus shifted to helping Mercedes emerge victorious in the Constructors’ championship.
