Lando Norris believes he and McLaren can win a GP in the 2024 Formula 1 season, even with Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s strong start to the year.
The 24-year-old performed well at the Chinese GP, rising from fourth on the grid and capitalizing on safety car periods to claim the eighth P2 of his career, finishing between the two Red Bull cars of Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
It was a surprising result, as McLaren did not expect to fight for victory at the Shanghai International Circuit, as the low-speed corners theoretically favored their rivals.
“Whenever I finish behind Max I feel like it’s a victory, so today (Sunday) was a great day,” the McLaren driver told Sky Sports F1 after the race, highlighting the strength of the Verstappen-Red Bull duo.
“I’m really surprised, I didn’t expect a day like today, so I’m very happy for myself and the whole team. The result definitely exceeded our expectations, but a lot of things went in our favor, I didn’t make any mistakes in Turn 1 this time and I could have clean air, I could control my own race and that made a big difference,” he said.
With seven more third places added, Norris holds the undesirable record as the F1 driver with the most podiums without victory. Having come close on other occasions, the ‘eternal runner-up’ narrative began to form around Norris, questioning whether he will be able to achieve the long-awaited GP victory.
When asked if it was frustrating or if he felt he deserved a win, Norris replied: “I feel like it, but that’s Formula 1.”
The Briton continued, expressing confidence in his and his team’s ability to win this season, despite how difficult it has been.
“Max is doing a good job, Red Bull is doing an incredible job. I can’t criticize them and I can’t be too upset about it, but I feel like I’m getting a lot out of the car, especially on Sundays,” he said.
“So, I have to be happy with the work I’m doing. And one day… I think victory is coming. I think this year. I’m not super confident saying that, I just think we can get a win this year, but it’s going to be difficult. We have a lot of work to do, and we are working hard”, concluded the British driver.
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