S Poddar
McLaren’s young gun Lando Norris has been steadily closing the gap on the reigning champion, Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who won the 2023 World Championship. There are eight rounds left in the 2024 Formula 1 season. Will Norris cross the goal line first and wrestle the championship away from Verstappen?
The Task Ahead
Norris now lags behind Verstappen by 52 points. Counting the remaining races and the points available to be scored, he has to outscore Verstappen by an average of 8.9 per race should he ultimately win the championship. It’s tough, but not impossible.
Why Norris Might Work
Several things may work in Norris’s favor:
- McLaren’s Progress: McLaren has made pretty good progress this season and has been quite competitive from one race to the other. They need to make sure they can give Norris a reliable and quick car.
- Norris’s Consistency: Since Norris has been coming out quite strong on back-to-back races, he needs to keep that rhythm going for such a long fight for the championship.
- Pressure on Verstappen: The pressure on Verstappen to retain the title might be too much to bear. Sometimes pressure can be a burden, and if Verstappen slips, then comes Norris.
- Sprint Races: sprint races introduce uncertainty in the calendar. This increases the likelihood of unpredictable outcomes across sprint races that can benefit Norris.
Precedents from the past
The odds are certainly against him, but history is full of surprises. Drivers managed to win the championship through famous comebacks in the past. Such was the case for Lewis Hamilton when he took the title in 2008 on the final lap of the season with a move over Felipe Massa.
The Road Ahead
The remaining races surely will be full of drama and suspense. Norris needs to keep his chin up, capitalize on opportunities, and pray for a few lucky breaks in the way. If he can do all these things, then maybe, just maybe, he is good enough to write history and be crowned as the world champion of Formula 1 in 2024.
