Editor’s Desk: Time for Norris to Get Down to Work

Lando Norris had to face a harsh reality at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix and we hope that the accident with Max Verstappen will be an eye-opener for the young and talented Briton.

Norris has been the subject of much debate between myself and GrandPrix247 editor-in-chief Paul Velasco. Paul has a high opinion of Lando and believes he is the only driver in the Formula 1 grid who can challenge Verstappen.

I, for one, have always been sceptical of the McLaren driver, but before everyone gets all worked up, let me explain my view.

There is no doubt about Norris’ pace, his natural speed, he is one of the best drivers in Formula 1, but as a whole I have always felt he had some shortcomings and was more prone to mistakes than Verstappen for example.

I know it’s unfair to compare Norris to Verstappen, but the latter is the reference point now, and this season he’s the driver Lando has to fight with.

Let’s rewind a bit to when Norris burst onto the F1 scene in 2019 with McLaren and was declared the next F1 World Champion by Zak Brown. McLaren were in poor form at the time, which was probably good for their rising star as it took some of the pressure off him.

But since then Norris has renewed his contract with the Woking side with still no light in sight, and while both parties have insisted that this long-term commitment was based on mutual trust, I have always felt that Norris prefers to stay in his comfort zone.

It’s simple, everyone says he’s good and everyone says McLaren is bad, so no one can blame him for the bad results and the way things turned out.

As for his team-mate, Carlos Sainz pushed him hard in his two years at McLaren and although he crushed Daniel Ricciardo, let’s be realistic, it would be a disaster if he didn’t. Now with Oscar Piastri he is also under pressure, although the Australian has been falling back recently and his inexperience is also showing.

Given the way McLaren have turned things around, I have no problem admitting that I ‘might’ have been wrong about Norris’ belief in them, although I stress that he couldn’t have known they would bounce back in the way they did in mid-2023 and into 2024.

It got really serious

Back to the present, Norris is showing speed and is the only driver to put a lot of pressure on Verstappen, both in qualifying and in the races, although the Dutchman still has the advantage.

After the Austrian GP Paul and I spoke about the Verstappen/Norris incident and we both agreed that the Red Bull driver was to blame for the accident. He had gone too far, but up until the accident there had been a fierce rivalry between them.

Personally, I didn’t like Lando’s whining every time his “mate” would defend himself fiercely. What does he expect? A friendly wave? It’s Max Verstappen, you’re racing, for God’s sake, so toughen up or go home.

And suddenly it dawned on me why I had a problem with Norris: I never got the impression he took Formula 1 as seriously as he should.

He always seems to joke about everything and take everything lightly. To me, that is not the mark of an F1 champion or a driver who takes racing seriously.

Ruthlessness has been a trait that all F1 champions have shared over the years. Give me an example of an F1 champion who was a nice person. You can’t, because you have to have that killer instinct to win championships, something Verstappen has in abundance, as Norris found out first-hand last Sunday.

Lando’s body language after the crash and what he said showed disappointment and disbelief, but he should learn that there are no friends on the race track, not in Verstappen, not in any other driver, not in Lewis Hamilton, not in Charles Leclerc… not in anyone.

Now that his car is arguably the fastest, it’s time for Norris to get down to work, because as the song goes: Nice guys finish last.