McLaren has had an astonishing recovery this season after a disastrous start to the campaign. After fighting just to get into the points at the start of the year, the team is now consistently fighting for podiums. Lando Norris has benefited the most from McLaren’s resurgence as he has secured five podiums in his last eight races. Although a win still eludes the 23-year-old, he believes that he is not far away from doing so, as per Racing News 365.
The pressure has been increasing on Norris to get his first victory in F1 after McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri outshined him at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Australian won the sprint before finishing second in the main race.
THREE PODIUMS IN A ROW BABY! pic.twitter.com/VsPJqSlzQp
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) October 9, 2023
On the other hand, the Briton finished third in both the sprint and the main race. Therefore, since Piastri registered a win before Norris, several F1 fans mocked the 23-year-old. Meanwhile, 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill also stated that Norris needs to win a race now to prove himself.
When asked on the F1 Nation podcast about who he expects will win the United States GP, the Briton said, “I think Lando’s got to win. Sprint? Lando? Race? It’s gotta be Max“. Amid this increasing pressure, Norris has set a timeline of when he expects to win his first F1 race.
Lando Norris expects to win a few races in 2024
In a recent interview with RacingNews365, Lando Norris explained how McLaren have made a “huge step forward” this season and will be in a strong position to contend for wins in 2024. The Briton began his remarks by praising the massive improvement that the Woking-based outfit has made over the course of the 2023 season. He then added how this improvement gives him the confidence that McLaren will be one of the favorites for victories in 2024.
“If we have a strong start to the season in 2024 and continue to develop our car, I think we can occasionally be the favorites for victory next year. This means that from mid-season or towards the end of next year we will be on some circuits where we can enter the race as favorites,” he explained as per Racing News 365.
However, he made it clear that McLaren will not be able to fight for the wins at most circuits as Red Bull will still be the favorites. The 23-year-old believes that the Woking-based outfit will be in contention to fight for second place next season.
Norris expects McLaren to be the best of the rest
Since Red Bull are currently showcasing unprecedented dominance, Lando Norris expects the Milton Keynes outfit to also carry on as the leaders of the pack in 2024. However, instead of Mercedes, the Briton believes that McLaren can be the best of the rest in the next season.
In the same interview, the 23-year-old said, “Mercedes still remains the second team for me, but we are currently making steps that will bring us closer to them. In my opinion, we are not yet the second team, but I think we have it in us to become it next year“.
As for this season, McLaren are targeting to finish fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. The Woking-based outfit are currently fifth in the standings with 219 points and are just 11 points behind a struggling Aston Martin team.
