Back in 2017, Lando Norris was making a name for himself in Formula 3, while Charles Leclerc went on to win the F2 championship in his rookie season. Looking at Leclerc, Norris, who was just a teenager at the time, wanted to prove he was just as good as the Monagasque driver by also winning the Formula 2 championship as a rookie.
When asked if he saw 2018 as his big chance to move up to Formula 1, Norris was clear about his goals. He said, “Leclerc has done it this year, so if I want to beat or prove I’m just as good then I’m going to have to win [the title as a rookie].” Norris felt that anything less than winning the championship wouldn’t be good enough.
I’ll be racing Formula 2 in Abu Dhabi with @CamposRacing pic.twitter.com/JAhx1dcNRO
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) November 13, 2017
Leclerc had an amazing rookie season in F2, winning seven races and starting from pole position eight times with the Prema Racing team. Norris understood that winning the F2 title could open doors to Formula 1, just like it did for Leclerc.
Although Norris did not win the F2 title in 2018 [finished second], he received an F1 seat with McLaren in 2019. The Briton could have been lucky as he was already a reserve driver for McLaren in 2018, and so the Woking-based outfit were aware of his talents.
Norris and Leclerc have now turned into Formula 1 rivals
Fast forward to 2024 and both Norris and Leclerc are already great rivals. Norris is spearheading the F1 project for McLaren while Leclerc is for Ferrari.
Currently, Norris sits on 199 points and is second in the 2024 championship followed by Leclerc, who sits on 177 points. This wasn’t the case for the better part of the first half of the season as Leclerc was in second.
How tough is it to beat Max Verstappen & Red Bull even with a competitive car?
Lando Norris has outscored Max in just 1 of the last 7 GPs, including Miami.
Max has actually increased his championship lead to Lando by 32 points in that span.
Every decision & second is crucial. pic.twitter.com/ZbErJ2Vg27
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) July 9, 2024
However, following the upgrade package McLaren introduced in Miami, they found immense performance, and it was this that helped Norris register some impressive results in the last few rounds.
After his win in Miami, the 24-year-old registered five more podiums in his last eight races and also had the chance to win three of them, had he or McLaren not made mistakes.
