Lando Norris is enjoying a fine season for McLaren. The British driver bagged his first-ever F1 victory at the 110th time of asking at the Miami Grand Prix in May.
And after nine races, he sits third in the championship, 63 points adrift of leader Max Verstappen. Following Charles Leclerc’s DNF in Canada, he’s just seven points away from second.
Norris has never finished in a season in the top three, with his best effort 6th in 2021 and 2023. But there’s a strong chance that he scores an invite to the FIA prizegiving this year.
In addition to his Miami win, the Briton has finished on the podium in Australia, China, Emila Romagna and Canada. Were it not for a split-second hesitation when a safety car came out in Montreal, he could have converted his Montreal lead into another victory.
Norris is still one of the younger drivers in F1 at 24 but he’s the senior figure in the McLaren team. Teammate Oscar Piastri is only 18 months into his career in the sport.
Somewhat predictably, the former continues to dominate the head-to-head at the Woking outfit. He leads Piastri 7-2 in both qualifying and the races this year.
Karun Chandhok says Lando Norris has become ‘much more calm’
Speaking to McLaren CEO Zak Brown following first practice at the Spanish Grand Prix, Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok shared the change he’d noticed in Norris out on track this year. He’s seen him become ‘much more measured’.
Chandhok feels this was key to the aforementioned Miami victory. Norris extended his stint longer than Verstappen that day and capitalised on a well-timed safety car to pit and grab the lead before streaking clear of the Red Bull.
“I’ve found, listening to the radio communications, [Lando is] much more calm, much more measured in the way he thinks about the race,” Chandhok said. “We saw that come through in Miami.”
During FP2 later in the day, the former Lotus driver made the case that Norris has been the ‘standout driver of the season’ other than Verstappen. He regards his performances this year as ‘super impressive’.
Max Verstappen discusses Norris F1 championship credentials
Much as he’s come close to beating Verstappen to the win in two of the last three races, Norris remains a distinct outsider for the title. There may be 15 rounds to go, but 63 points is a mighty gap to make up to an all-time great driver.
However, it’s feasible that he could win the championship next year. McLaren have virtually wiped out the gap to Red Bull with their upgrades this term and a further winter of development could potentially put them ahead.
During an interview in Canada, Verstappen was asked to name the one driver who was most likely to be a world champion in the future. He picked out Leclerc as the top candidate, though he did also back Norris to achieve the feat.
Everyone in the paddock regards him as one of the sport’s five elite drivers alongside Verstappen, Leclerc, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. By the end of the year, he’ll hope to have considerably increased his tally of wins.
While the drivers’ title is very unlikely, McLaren shouldn’t be counted out in the constructors’. They’re 89 behind Red Bull as it stands but Sergio Perez is struggling and Helmut Marko believes they have the best driver line-up on the grid.
The post 'I've found': Karun Chandhok shares the change he's noticed in Lando Norris radio messages appeared first on F1 Oversteer.