Lando Norris has faced immense criticism throughout the 2024 season for his inability to beat reigning champion Max Verstappen in several of the races despite having a quicker car. With questions over Norris having the caliber for winning the championship, former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello seems to have the answer to why the Briton seems to have fallen short so far.
In his opinion, Norris‘ lack of championship-winning experience in F1 makes all the difference. “Experience is everything, and for sure, someone going for four is more prepared than the one going for one”, Barrichello said in an interview with host Tom Clarkson on the F1:Beyond the Grid podcast.
Barrichello, who was a teammate of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher during their time at Ferrari, understands the pressure Norris would be facing at the moment to fight for his maiden title. The pressure seems to be evident for Norris, who has just managed three wins this year despite starting on pole on seven occasions.
Down as far as P16 and back up to the podium
On this day in 2016, a teenage Max Verstappen’s masterclass at a rainy Interlagos ️#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/snugiRBEI5
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 13, 2024
In stark contrast, Verstappen has seemingly eeked out all the potential of his RB20, which has struggled with severe balance issues throughout the second half of the season. What is a further testament to Verstappen’s brilliance is that he has managed to maintain a 62-point lead over Norris despite managing just one win in the last 11 races.
Does Norris still have a chance of winning his maiden championship?
Although most would believe that Verstappen has done more than enough to seal his fourth consecutive title already, Norris is still not out of contention mathematically. With three Grand Prix weekends still remaining, including a sprint race weekend, there are still a maximum of 86 points up for grabs.
This means that Verstappen still needs to score 24 points to ensure that he wins yet another title. Then, even if Norris were to score maximum points in all the remaining three Grand Prix weekends, he would only finish equal on points with the Dutchman.
And since Verstappen has managed eight victories this year, he will win the championship on account of having more wins than Norris, who has just managed three so far.
With such a huge gap to Norris, Verstappen also has the luxury of not taking risks and can just focus on limiting damage, something he has done brilliantly this season with him not having the fastest car during most race weekends.
