Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were the two frontrunners who duelled for the Drivers’ Championship last year. And the Dutchman won the title comprehensively, and comfortably too, with two race weekends to spare.
While there were many who blamed Norris’ poor starts from pole to be the reason Max ran away with the crown, the McLaren driver thinks otherwise. His weakness lay elsewhere, insisted Norris, before explaining how he finds it tough to get the better of Max in on-track battles.
“Nobody has a good time racing against Max. I think Mexico was a kind of turning point when it became clear that not everything he does is perfect,” said Norris. “I certainly didn’t get the upper hand as often as I would have liked in certain moments as a driver, especially in my battles with Max.”
However, it is also a fact that Norris’ McLaren was the fastest car on the grid in the second half of the season. The British driver secured many pole positions too, only to give away the advantage with ‘bad starts’.
Norris insisted that he only had three instances through the year where poor starts cost him track positions.
“There were maybe three starts this year where I lost one or two positions. But those were often just positions to Max. Or in Budapest one to Oscar and little things like that,” explained Norris.
“Lando he’s the favourite for next year now to win the championship”
Nico Rosberg is backing Lando Norris to take the Drivers’ Championship in 2025 pic.twitter.com/4do9pddg7q
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 10, 2024
The year 2025 is likely to ring in a fresh narrative for Norris. He is already touted as the favorite to win the title. And now that he has identified his ‘problems’, it would just be a matter of making amends.
New year, new opportunities for Norris
McLaren is expected to have the fastest car on the grid followed by Ferrari in 2025. And Red Bull are likely to enter this season on the back foot.
Norris will hope to gain a significant advantage in the first few races of the season when Verstappen is unlikely to have a quick enough car to challenge him for wins.
A similar strategy was adopted by Verstappen last year, which helped him create enough buffer early on. And when Norris did have the fastest car, Max could keep him at a distance with consistent performances.
However, Verstappen will not be the only challenge for Norris in 2025.
The Briton’s biggest threat would be his compatriot Lewis Hamilton, who has been hired by Ferrari to bolster their chances of securing a first world championship in 17 years. Not to forget other contenders including Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s second driver, Oscar Piastri.
