Lando Norris is on an excellent streak in the 2024 season, with his first win and six podiums. He has bridged the gap with Max Verstappen, leaving only a 69-point difference.
However, the British driver commented on his desire to trim this deficit in the battle for the driver’s championship. He believes he has the car and the confidence, especially after his first win, to pull it off.
The surreal situation for Lando Norris
In a recent interview with the Telegraph, Lando Norris admitted feeling “weird.” The McLaren driver still finds it incomprehensible how quickly he has surged to the top and is now in the title fight with the three-time world champion, Max Verstappen. He commented,
“Absolutely, I feel we’re in the title race. If you look at the last few race weekends, you’d be stupid not to say it.”
He explained when asked about why he renewed his contract with the Papaya team, “I believe I can achieve a championship at McLaren… I absolutely think I can go up against Max and give him a good challenge.”
The Spanish failure of Lando Norris
When Lando Norris was asked if he could have won in Spain, he answered,
“Not could; I should have done. I got a bad start, simple as that. The car was incredible today. I think we were, for sure, the quickest. I just lost it in the beginning.”
Three British drivers secured top-four finishes at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, with Lewis Hamilton earning his first podium of the season, finishing one spot ahead of George Russell in the other Mercedes.
P3 for Lewis in Barcelona 💪🥉 Mega race, mega podium pic.twitter.com/ncrRr91vhK
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 24, 2024
After a challenging start to the season, the Silver Arrows have shown signs of improvement in the last two races, highlighted by Russell’s pole position in Montreal. Hamilton, who is moving to Ferrari next season, still believes his team trails behind Red Bull and McLaren in the hierarchy.
The Brit versus the Dutchman
If one adds up McLaren’s almost wins, the gap between Norris and Verstappen could be reduced from 69 to 21 points, a hard fact for the British driver to digest. A 21-point difference would have been manageable for the Papaya team to overcome over the next 14 rounds. However, the 69-point difference with the Dutchman in his current form with Red Bull seems like an impossible feat.
10 down, 14 to go…
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 24, 2024
A reminder of how things stand so far in 2024 👇#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/45uy3bxc2g
Yet, Lando Norris has said during media press:
“I need to tidy up a few bits, and we will be on top… We should have gotten points back on Max. He is still extending his lead, and that is not something we can afford to let him do, to run away with at this point in the season.”
McLaren’s significant plans for the Austrian GP
McLaren is one of the few teams introducing upgrades at Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix, revealing a new front wing and suspension fairings.
Old v new front wing endplate for McLaren in Austria. Stella praising work at base which has put team ahead of projections. Consider where they were this time last year as they introduced their first major upgrades, to today having what Red Bull and others say is the fastest car. pic.twitter.com/QBLOTWB7OO
— Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) June 28, 2024
These modifications are primarily aimed at correcting an imbalance in the MCL38’s performance in both low- and high-speed corners. The wing changes feature subtle geometric adjustments to the flaps, enhancing airflow to the downstream suspension elements.
Rohit Kumar