S Poddar
Lando Norris secured pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend but finished second behind Max Verstappen
In the quest to consistently beat Max Verstappen, McLaren’s Lando Norris is striving for perfection. Despite finishing close behind Verstappen in the last two races in Canada and Spain, Norris believes that he and McLaren need to fine-tune minor details to surpass the world champion.
“Everything needs to be executed perfectly, and last weekend, it wasn’t,” Norris admitted. “That’s where it cost us. I’m very happy overall, but there are still small things we need to improve.”
Norris acknowledged he might have been too self-critical after the race in Spain, where being overtaken by Verstappen and George Russell’s Mercedes at the start thwarted his chances of victory. Although Norris closed the gap to within two seconds of Verstappen by the end, his victory in Miami in May remains his sole F1 win so far.
When asked if McLaren could string together a series of wins, Norris was cautious but optimistic. “A run of wins… I don’t want to be over-confident. But we could definitely win races. The team and I are performing well, but we’re up against one of the best drivers ever and one of the best teams in F1.”
Norris, now 24, moved into second place in the championship after his result in Spain, trailing Verstappen by 69 points with 14 races to go. With a competitive car, his frustrations grow whenever he falls short of his potential. “I’ve only won one race, and while that’s amazing, it’s frustrating when small mistakes cost you more. Being in this position makes you hungrier to win, and the disappointment is greater when you don’t. A win in F1 is incredibly meaningful, something I’ve dreamt about since I was a kid.”
Norris felt he could have won in Canada as well, but Verstappen triumphed in both races. With three wins in the past five races and seven out of 10 this year, Verstappen and Red Bull remain the team to beat, with McLaren emerging as their most consistent challenger.
Verstappen commented on McLaren’s performance: “We’re pushing hard to keep improving. McLaren is very solid at the moment, performing well on every track. In Barcelona, they managed their tires better than anyone else, pushing more without significant degradation. These are areas where we need to improve, along with our issues with kerbs and bumps at low speeds. We’re working to understand these better for next year.”
Mercedes, with George Russell leading both races after recent upgrades, also needs to enhance their car to become regular contenders for victory. “We’ve made a good step,” Russell said, “but we still need that little bit extra to fight for wins week-in, week-out.”
