Despite being a rookie in European Formula 3, Lando Norris took away the title by storm after having some exceptional performances. And as per the biography of Norris by Ben Hunt, even McLaren was impressed and offered him a test in the 2017 F1 car in Hungary, right after the Grand Prix there. Apparently, he was so impressive that on his first F1 car appearance, he only recorded a two-tenths of a second time more than then championship leader Sebastian Vettel. And this happened two years before Norris got to debut.
It’s more impressive knowing that Norris pulled this feat when the Woking-based team wasn’t doing very well in the season. It instantly showed the Briton’s potential that his F1 future was inevitable.
Luckily, he didn’t get to wait long before he confirmed himself on the grid. And now, in 2023, he is touted to be the future world champion, if he gets a car mighty enough, but the signs were already there.
When Lando Norris almost matched Sebastian Vettel
Back in 2017, Vettel was on the top of his game, but little anyone knew that a young driver in an equal car could be within a respectable gap. So much so that he even gave a better time than then McLaren driver Stoffle Vandoorne.
“But his performance in Hungary was excellent. Taking over from Stoffel Vandoorne, who had driven the previous day, Norris split the two Ferrari drivers and finished just 0.2 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel, who was leading the F1 championship,” wrote Hunt.
Lando Norris almost had Seb when McLaren made him test in their 2017 car, which was honestly no match to Ferrari then
Source: Lando Norris: A Biography, Ben Hunt pic.twitter.com/xQhSYW0p3Y
— F1 Library (@dnf_fastest) August 18, 2023
From there inwards, Norris had been impressive and came into F1, after battling with his contemporaries George Russell and Alex Albon. All three are still in F1 and are considered to be the stars of the future.
There is no one who doesn’t believe in the McLaren star
With his prominence in the last two years at McLaren, specifically when Carlos Sainz left, Norris has been nothing but excellent. Still, at a very young age, he emerged as the new leader of the team.
From Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton to even the current world champion Lewis Hamilton, Norris would be a champion in the future. With the rising hype, now the pressure isn’t on Norris but on the side that wants to keep him.
It’s been over a decade and a half since McLaren has been in the shadows. But now, if they want to keep one of the brightest talents of this generation, they will have to do better to show he can win with the team at Woking.
