Lando Norris has been hyped up by McLaren for years and one of his closest aides is adamant the Englishman can become a world champion despite some recent frustrations
Lando Norris’s race engineer is confident he has everything necessary to become a world champion with McLaren. For the first time in his career the Englishman has an opportunity to claim the title, but has struggled in recent weeks.
Norris emerged as a race-winning driver last season and was able to mix it with Max Verstappen, albeit he was never in a championship fight. This year McLaren have remained the class of the field and that has put Norris in a strong position.
But since winning the season opener in Australia he has found things difficult. He’s seen team-mate Oscar Piastri make the most of the McLaren’s speed to win three of the five races this season, which has sent him to the top of the standings at this early stage.
Piastri is renowned for his relaxed attitude and has remained composed when the pressure’s on, Norris however has found it difficult. Qualifying has been a weak point and he crashed before the recent Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia, having to start tenth as a result.
But his race engineer, Will Joseph, who has been alongside him since his debut in 2019, has no doubt that Norris is continuing to improve and possesses the ingredients to rule the sport.
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He was quizzed on whether he felt Norris had all the tools to succeed and told RacingNews365 : “I think the answer is yes. Every driver is on a constant curve of improvement. We’re on that curve, and we’re now very high up it. I guess we’re sort of on the diminishing rate of returns, but there are always things that we can do better, whether that be in his driving, which changes. The track is never in the same condition twice.
“There are always possibilities in the driving, whether that be in how we use this information to set up the car, whether that be how we communicate the strategy or the race conditions. There are always areas for improvement. But I think he’s demonstrated he has the ability to be a world champion. It’s all about putting it together, and everything has to align.”
Following McLaren’s success as constructors’ champions last season the pressure is on Norris and Piastri to produce. The Red Bull drop off means Verstappen is no longer as dominant and Norris concedes he’s putting too much weight on his shoulders every weekend.
He said at the race in Jeddah: “I’m probably putting a bit too much pressure on myself at the minute, not because of any [particular] reason, and not because of the championship and all these things. I just put too much pressure on myself because I want to do well, like I want to do so well.
“I want to be pole, I want to win, I want to be perfect, and I think I need to accept a little bit more that I’m not going to be perfect, and I’m making mistakes because I’m trying to be perfect, rather than the other way around.”
