McLaren completed a remarkable mid-season turnaround in 2023 that had many believing they could challenge Red Bull in 2024 and the Woking-based Formula 1 outfit has delivered on that promise so far.
Signing a multi-year contract extension in the off-season, Lando Norris responded to people saying he was running away from challenging Max Verstappen by chasing a seat alongside him or whether he rued missing out on a potential seat at Mercedes once Lewis Hamilton announced his plans to depart Brackley for Maranello.
“I’m confident in my team and confident in what we’ve been able to achieve and what we can achieve going into the future,” he said. “I’m very happy with where I am.”
Norris’ confidence was well-placed, he believed McLaren was capable of winning races and he didn’t have to wait long to realise that.
A fortuitously timed Safety Car at Miami put Norris in the lead with approximately one-third of the race to go, with Max Verstappen right behind him for the restart.
As the race went to green, Norris ran unopposed to a glorious maiden victory.
From Miami onwards, many could argue that McLaren has the best car in the Formula 1 field.
Norris ran Verstappen close at Imola and Montreal, coming up just short on both occasions.
Being pipped by George Russell at the start of the Spanish GP cost Norris the chance to convert pole in May and a wheel-to-wheel clash with Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring thwarted the No.4 driver once again.
By this time of the season, Mercedes had brought itself into play, meaning Norris and McLaren had more than Verstappen’s Red Bull to worry about.
George Russell was the benefactor of Norris’ clash with Verstappen in Austria and he led a Mercedes one-two in qualifying next time out at Silverstone.
But a Russell DNF, mixed weather conditions and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri being left out a lap too long amid the first bout of rain gave Norris the lead at the British GP, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen.
A harried back and forth over team radio over what tyres to use as the track dried in the race’s closing act led to the incorrect call – Norris took on softs.
That was the wrong call and another win slipped through his fingers.
Moving to Hungary, McLaren most definitely had the strongest car as Norris and Piastri locked out the front row of the grid.
Piastri grabbed the holeshot and took control of the race with relative ease until a protective strategy call for the final round of stops saw McLaren undercut the Australian with Norris.
The plan was to swap the drivers back to reinstall Piastri’s lead, which came with just two laps of the race to go after several laps of radio chatter with Norris and McLaren’s sophomore driver took his first Formula 1 win in dubious circumstances.
McLaren’s form was seeing it reel in Constructors’ Championship leaders Red Bull, but missed opportunities for Norris were costing him the chance to make significant inroads into Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ standings.
A dance into the gravel at lights out in the Belgian GP cost Norris another opportunity as Piastri took second with the younger driver of the pairing looking the more composed.
With 14 rounds of the season done and dusted, McLaren’s points tally stands at 366 points, just 42 behind leaders Red Bull with Sergio Perez continuing to hold the Milton Keynes-based squad back.
Norris meanwhile, trails Verstappen by 78 points with Piastri only two further back.
The clear objective for McLaren in the second half of the season is to clinch the Constructors’ title, but after a run of 10 podiums, CEO Zak Brown is targeting both Championships.
“They are both priorities because, ultimately, to win the Constructors, we need our two drivers to be as high up as possible,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I’d like to see both drivers in the top three.
“We’ve got second and fourth right now. The closer we get to the Drivers, the closer that’ll get us to the Constructors, so we’re going for both because all points count.”
The former challenge looks more than doable with McLaren outscoring Red Bull across the last four races, but for Norris to challenge Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, a “reset” is needed for him to make good on his race-winning opportunities.
“We all need it, but I think I just need it to reset,” Norris said in Belgium.
“I’ve given away a lot of points over the last three or four races, just because of stupid stuff. Mistakes and bad starts.
“The last 2 or 3 races, I’ve just not clicked as much as I needed to.
“I’ve given up a lot of points, so hopefully I can come back stronger.”
