Lando Norris Proud of McLaren’s Impressive 2024 Gains

McLaren’s Lando Norris reflects on 2024, highlighting underestimated results and showcasing the team’s significant progress throughout the season.

Lando Norris understands why some observers might think he missed several opportunities this year. However, the McLaren F1 driver refuses to undermine his own season and explains that the various issues encountered have their reasons.

“From the outside, I understand why people think that’s the case,” Norris told The Race. “And I completely agree with them! But once you know the reasons behind why certain things happened, I’m still quite proud of the season so far.”

According to him, the missed opportunities aren’t as significant as people believe: “I think it’s pretty clear. There haven’t been as many missed chances as people think. And generally, people believe things have been far worse than they actually were, or that we’ve been much faster than we actually have been.”

“It’s a compliment because it shows how far we’ve come, and I’m proud that on those days, whether in Singapore or Zandvoort, I was always there to make the most of those opportunities. But there are definitely moments where we let things slip: Silverstone. Canada, not entirely.”

“Maybe one or two others. The rest are the ones people want to believe were bad for various reasons. Even when the starts were ’bad,’ I was still in the top three, four, or five, even on those days.”

“If you look at Barcelona, when I had a ’bad’ start, everyone says the best start of that race was Max’s. Yet, I think I was the third or fourth best off the line. It’s just that I was next to the guy who had the best start.”

“The other race I’d describe as a bit more unlucky was Budapest, where my initial start was very good, but I had just a little too much wheel spin and a lower gear shift, which cost me the win.”

However, the overall picture of his year isn’t as bleak as sometimes portrayed: “The results are better than people thought. There have definitely been missed opportunities. That’s a fact. But I’m very satisfied with my season.”

“I always feel like I’ve learned a lot. Things haven’t gone as planned. Some races slipped away from us. But I’m quite happy with the season I’ve had, because it’s clear that when things go well, they can be extraordinary.”

Norris had commented on Lewis Hamilton in 2020, saying he had a car with which he should have won every race. Revisiting those remarks, he explains that the Mercedes W11 was more capable than his MCL38 but insists he never intended to disrespect his senior.

“First of all, I would never think that! For those who know me, that’s not my mindset at all. But I’d say it’s as challenging as I imagined because so many things can still easily go wrong, even when you have the best car.”

“If you make a mistake in a Q3 lap, you’re not on pole when you should’ve been. If you don’t have a perfect start while the guy in second does, you’re second when you shouldn’t be.”

“There have been times when we were so dominant—like in Zandvoort—that it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes early on. You can recover and still dominate and win a race comfortably.”

“But when people think we’ve had the most dominant car of all time… I’ve been on pole by three thousandths, five thousandths, or two hundredths, and those positions dictate the rest of the race. I’ve always understood that—it’s just the harsh reality when you’re in that position and living through it.”

Norris also highlights that he is now competing against the top drivers in Formula 1, leaving no room for error: “The problem is that suddenly, I’m fighting against them to win. Not doing a perfect job against these drivers—Max in this case—makes the difference between winning a race and not winning it.”

“And so it stings a bit more, and it feels like everything has a greater impact. If you win, you suddenly receive much more praise. If you make a mistake, you’re suddenly criticized far more harshly.”

“Both are, in a way, compliments, and I’ve appreciated both. But I’ve paid the price, especially from a championship perspective, when I haven’t performed at the right level. At the top, you’re penalized more when things go wrong than when you’re further down the field.”