Autosport Top 50 of 2024: #3 Lando Norris

Undoubtedly, his greatest Method 1 season so far – with the statistics proving so. In 2024, Lando Norris completed as championship runner-up (his earlier greatest ending place was sixth in 2021 and 2023), he took 4 wins in breaking his GP victory duck (together with a dash win too) and took his F1 profession pole tally to close double figures when he’d had only one coming in. 

However it may’t be forgotten how his season had narrative nuance together with the chilly numbers. 

Within the early a part of the yr, Norris nonetheless needed to shake the no-wins monkey (and cowardly social media moniker) from his status.

However he did this with aplomb when elevated right into a profitable place within the Miami race – the proper place for a celebration reveller to rejoice his breakthrough. And he went on to attain very high quality wins at Zandvoort and Abu Dhabi, and in Singapore too. 

When in an F1 title battle for the primary time, he confronted many questions on his temperament behind the wheel – concerning begins (Budapest and Spa following his Shanghai dash begin battle), errors at key moments and the problem of racing Max Verstappen at full-tilt. To his credit score, he addressed a lot of this very nicely. 

On begins, when the stress was actually on for McLaren in Abu Dhabi, he completely nailed it. And in battle, he realized from that bruising Austin expertise to critically get fractionally in entrance of Verstappen every week later in Mexico and in doing so uncovered his rival’s cynical techniques to stewards’ judgements and penalties. 

However the error depend total can’t be ignored – even when McLaren performed an element in a few of this. And, in the end, this is the reason he’s slipped down a spot in our F1 driver rating versus 2023.

PLUS: Ranking the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2024

Higher qualifying ends in Bahrain, Miami and Brazil (sprints) went begging. There have been offs racing Carlos Sainz and George Russell, plus how he let Verstappen again forward within the Austria dash. Then there have been these Singapore wallstrike moments, the Qatar yellow flags gaffe and extra. 

To finish on a excessive notice – it’s price recalling simply how nicely Norris did in qualifying in opposition to a hard-charging team-mate in Oscar Piastri. Norris not solely gained their head-to-head 24-6 (throughout all qualifying classes), however he held a major 0.313s common tempo distinction too. 

Norris made an almighty step up in 2024. F1 can’t wait to see what he’ll do with win-worthy equipment from the off subsequent time. 

Lando Norris reveals his pure F1 qualifying lap habits 

Need to know the way F1 qualifying naturally involves Norris and why he generally makes tiny errors proper on the restrict? Try this chat he had with Autosport on the Spanish GP this yr. 

AS: What does the info present you about the way you’re getting on in qualifying this yr? 

LN: I simply need to assault extra and easily it’s the unsuitable factor to do. All the time once we get to quali, I need to brake later and simply assault! And it’s the whole unsuitable factor to do. However that’s my regular manner of doing it and it’s the inaccurate manner of doing it.  

A mindset swap has helped Norris unlock his qualifying prowess

Photograph by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Photographs

In some methods, it’s excellent. You get to quali and like that little bit extra comes out. Which I feel has confirmed to be an excellent factor so many instances. However then there’s additionally these instances when it is like, ‘don’t do it’. And it’s arduous to go generally, ‘I must drive slower now to go faster’. It’s not a straightforward factor to do. 

Even the nice qualifyings. It may be so small, that I push like a couple of bar extra of the brake stress and it’s a small margins sort of factor. However that little bit extra and it’s the unsuitable factor to do. As an alternative of bettering my Q3 lap by 0.1s altogether, I am going 0.1s slower as a result of I brake two bar extra in a couple of corners and I’ve put the automobile and tyres beneath a bit extra stress. 

AS: Is there particular coaching that may assist with this? 

LN: With sure issues, sure. It’s simply very tough to sort out. As a result of it’s such a feeling-based factor, it’s mental-based factor. Of, ‘I brake after I really feel like I wanna brake’. I don’t actually use brake markers. Ever. I simply brake after I really feel is true. And so, after I get to quali, I’ve that feeling of simply needing to brake later, however I not often, rarely use brake markers. So, then my emotions typically go within the unsuitable instructions. 

It’s a bit little bit of that, nevertheless it’s easy and on the identical time very sophisticated in making an attempt to show one thing that’s such a unconscious capacity into making an attempt to grasp it in a acutely aware sense and shift that in a distinct path. As a result of that’s how I’ve at all times been my entire life. And consciously affecting that and selecting the place to position that stage of aggression will not be simple to do. 

Norris is already many individuals’s favorite to clinch the 2025 F1 world title

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Photographs