Lando Norris proves his Grand Prix winner potential, shining brightly at the Miami race.
Damon Hill disagrees with the perception some observers have of Lando Norris. The McLaren F1 driver has sometimes been labeled a ‘choker’ in the UK, meaning a driver who squanders all his chances, a view the 1996 world champion does not endorse.
“I’ve heard some people suggest he was a ‘choker’. I’ve never thought of Lando that way,” Hill stated on the F1 Nation podcast. “I thought he had done everything one could expect from someone aspiring to win a Grand Prix and become a world champion, that he had paid his dues and learned the hard way.”
“I was in Russia when he almost won and unfortunately got caught out in the last laps. And I remember how many times I came so close before it finally happened. That’s the nature of this sport.”
“You get a little closer, then something trips you up and you start to wonder how it’s going to happen, or if it ever will. But you dismiss that thought.”
“Because you know that as long as you keep doing what you’re doing and knocking on the door, the opportunity will eventually come and everything will suddenly fall into place as if by magic. That’s what happened in my case when I started winning a lot more, and I expect Lando to do the same.”
Ferrari and McLaren “still need to beat Verstappen”
The Briton does not believe that missing out on victories affects mental health, but he acknowledges that it is frustrating: “I think it’s not so much the effect on your own psyche, it’s just annoying.”
“All these guys think they can win, and if the right circumstances come along, they can win a Grand Prix. Some of them have been fortunate enough to have done it multiple times, so there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that they can do it.”
“What happens now is that you’ve proven what you already knew. Lando has just shown he can do it. When you win, you also unsettle people because you are then different from the rest.”
Hill is wary of Red Bull at Imola, despite McLaren’s progress and the likely improvements from Ferrari: “It’s great that McLaren has made progress and the pace was there in Miami. The race pace was there, but we still have a bit of a reserve.”
“It seems this season, if you are in traffic, if there is any disturbance to your car, your tires seem to suffer, so being in front is a huge advantage. The safety car also played a role.”
“The pace of the Red Bull is still there, and I don’t expect it to disappear overnight. There is probably still work to be done. I mean, let’s be honest, if they have improved enough to be as fast as the Red Bull, then that’s fantastic, but they still need to beat Max Verstappen.”
Norris Confirms Winner Potential in Miami. Norris Confirms Winner Potential in Miami
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