Lando Norris insists he has what it takes to compete for the Formula 1 World Championship after a breakout 2024 season, even though he ultimately fell short against Max Verstappen in his first sustained campaign at the front of the grid.
It has been a pivotal year for the 25-year-old McLaren driver who secured his first career wins in F1 and engaged in intense battles with Verstappen – “the best driver in the world”, a testament to his growing maturity and skill.
The pair's on-track rivalry provided some of the season's most thrilling moments, with notable skirmishes in Austria, Austin, and Mexico.
Though Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive title in Las Vegas, Norris reflected on the campaign with pride and optimism.
“A lot more positives and negatives, that's for sure," he said as he summed up his season.
"I feel like I can fight for a championship and I'm happy, and I can say that confidently. I have what it takes, and I know that deep down I have what it takes.
"I have some things to work on still, for sure, but I can fight against Max, and I'll be happy to say that, because I think Max is the best driver in the world, and probably one of the best drivers that's ever been in Formula 1.
"Many people might disagree, but I'm quite confident when I say that, which is rare. So for me to put up a fight against him and to go wheel-to-wheel is something I love, I enjoy.”
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Despite falling short in the title race, Norris sees value in the lessons learned.
"I'll probably look back on a lot in 20 years or 30 years that I fought such a driver, he added. “I'm happy for him. He deserves the championship, but hopefully I can upset him more next year."
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Verstappen's consistency and ability to extract the maximum performance from any situation left a lasting impression on Norris.
“He's not put a foot wrong, really, the whole year,” the McLaren charger admitted. “So that's a strength of his, he has no downsides. He has no negatives."
The Dutchman’s skill was evident regardless of the car’s performance level.
"When he's had the quickest car, he dominated races. When he's not in the quickest car, he's still been just behind us and almost winning the races anyway. So, he's not had any bad races the whole year."
However, Norris also highlighted moments where pressure revealed vulnerabilities.
"I think if we had a better car at the beginning of the year, we would have been fighting him a lot more, and he would have been a lot more under pressure than he's ever been."
"As soon as we did put him under pressure, he made some mistakes, the team made mistakes. But over the course of the season, there's been very few, and that's what makes him so good," Norris acknowledged.
While Verstappen remains the benchmark, Norris is confident in his growth and McLaren's trajectory. With improvements to their car and his experience against a generational talent, Norris believes 2025 could bring even greater success.
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