F1 Q&A: Can Lando Norris Sustain a Title Challenge Next Season?

Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship, while George Russell emerged victorious at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton’s second-place finish completed a Mercedes one-two, and Lando Norris of McLaren placed sixth, a result that concluded his aspirations for the title. With two remaining races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the constructors’ championship remains undecided. Ferrari has reduced the points difference with current leaders McLaren to 24 points. Andrew Benson, BBC F1 correspondent, addresses reader inquiries in anticipation of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix. Nick asks why Max Verstappen, a four-time champion and an all-time great racer described as grounded, funny, thoughtful, normal, and eloquent, similar to Sebastian Vettel, is consistently portrayed as a villain. Max Verstappen is recognized as an exceptional figure both in racing and personally. He possesses qualities such as being grounded, funny, thoughtful, normal, and eloquent, among other admirable traits. Lando Norris described him as “A great guy” earlier this year. Concurrently, Verstappen is undeniably an uncompromising competitor, and his driving style in specific situations is considered unacceptable by some observers. As an illustration, reference can be made to his interview with BBC Sport at the start of the Las Vegas weekend, where he stated he would “never let anyone overtake him around the outside.” Verstappen’s statement implies that he believes he has the right to force a competitor off the track if they attempt an outside overtake. He considers this method entirely acceptable. However, numerous drivers and seasoned F1 professionals do not view this stance as acceptable. The prevailing sentiment is that an outside overtake should be permissible if the attempting driver has positioned their car correctly, and that deliberately forcing someone off the track for attempting such a maneuver should be prohibited. Should Verstappen be characterized as a villain by some – a judgment the correspondent finds difficult to make personally – it is likely attributable to this particular racing philosophy. Verstappen acknowledges a distinction between his persona inside and outside the race car. Ieuan asks if this marks Max Verstappen’s most impressive title victory to date, noting his consistent maximization of results despite often having an inferior car throughout the year. Responses to such inquiries are inherently subjective, a point highlighted by one of Verstappen’s remarks during his post-race news conference in Las Vegas on Saturday night. When asked if this was his most impressive championship, he responded, “I think so too.” Nevertheless, his answer carried more subtlety, as he clarified that he did not consider it his best season. Verstappen stated, “Last year I had a dominant car. But I always felt not everyone appreciated what we achieved as a team.” He continued, “Of course the car was dominant, but it wasn’t as dominant as people thought it was. So that for sure is my best season because even if, in places, we didn’t have the best set-up, in the races we were still capable to win.” He added, “But I am also very proud of this season because – I would say for 70% of the season – we didn’t have the fastest car but actually we still extended our lead.” In truth, Verstappen has consistently performed at an exceptionally high standard for an extended period, a trend traceable back to 2018. He experienced a challenging phase at the beginning of that year, committing errors in the initial six races, which culminated in a crash during Monaco’s final practice session. This incident prevented him from participating in qualifying, despite having appeared poised to dominate the event. This period naturally prompted inquiries about a potential need for him to alter his approach. His public declaration at the subsequent race in Canada was: “I get tired of the questions. If I get a few more, I might headbutt someone.” However, that particular race marked a significant turning point. Verstappen incorporated greater control into his driving, moderating his style somewhat, and has maintained an exceptional performance level ever since, all while preserving his fierce competitive spirit. Therefore, although he possessed a dominant car last year, his teammate Sergio Perez’s performance made it appear less extraordinary. Nevertheless, sustaining such control and consistency throughout a season where Verstappen frequently lacked the fastest car, all while defending a lead, is remarkably impressive. Ed asks whether Lando Norris and McLaren possess sufficient consistency to launch a season-long title challenge in the upcoming year. Norris himself expresses confidence, stating, “Next year we will go into the season with a car we think we can win the championship with from the first race, and I’m very excited for that.” He maintains that he “has what it takes” but acknowledges that he has “some things to work on, for sure.” This sentiment also extends to McLaren as a team. During the Las Vegas event, team principal Andrea Stella offered reflections on McLaren’s season. He remarked, “If we remove the first few races of the season before the Miami upgrade, we see we have a trajectory from a drivers’ championship point of view that means Lando could compete with Max.” Stella added, “This is one of the unthinkable achievements we have to positively acknowledge at McLaren, thinking of where we were even 18 months ago.” Stella further stated, “I’m very proud of how rapidly Lando is picking up from the situations he experiences on and, to some extent, even off track to become a better and better driver.” He continued, “I am not sure this is acknowledged enough externally. There is more acknowledgment of the missed opportunities, rather than recognising that Lando is on a strong trajectory and he was in a condition, once McLaren had the material, to win races to keep the pace with Verstappen.” The onus is now on McLaren and Norris to demonstrate their capability over an entire season: for the team to commence the year with a competitive car and maintain it across 24 races, and for Norris to endeavor to elevate his performance to match Verstappen’s standard. Juha inquires about the most recent instance a drivers’ championship was secured without the fastest car on a season average. This question presents considerable difficulty due to the challenge of defining “the fastest car.” While one can examine average qualifying performance for outright single-lap speed, this does not consistently equate to the fastest car during a race. Furthermore, the influence of the driver factor and its impact must be considered. Based on these considerations, the question contains an inaccurate premise. It suggests that the Red Bull has not been the fastest car on average in qualifying during 2024 thus far. In reality, it has been, by a margin of 0.078 seconds. Nevertheless, this figure is influenced by Red Bull’s early-season dominance. If the average is calculated solely from Miami onward, following McLaren’s significant upgrade that enhanced their pace, McLaren emerges as the fastest, by 0.038 seconds. This margin further increases to 0.124 seconds when considering the second half of the season. In any case, the last occasion a driver secured the title in a car that was not the fastest over a single lap was in 2021, when the Mercedes held a slight speed advantage over Verstappen’s Red Bull. Prior to that, the year was 2012, a response that might be somewhat surprising. The championship contest that year involved Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. This season is justifiably celebrated as Alonso’s finest, as he contended for the title until the final race in what was considered the fourth fastest car, ultimately losing only due to being eliminated in two separate races through no fault of his own. In fact, despite the Red Bull being significantly quicker than the Ferrari, the McLaren held the fastest average qualifying pace; however, its unreliable performance thwarted Lewis Hamilton’s championship aspirations. James asks what modifications occurred with the Mercedes that led Lewis Hamilton to transition from disliking it in Sao Paulo to appreciating it in Las Vegas. This is a pertinent question, and neither Hamilton nor Mercedes appear to have a clear explanation. Notably, George Russell achieved a front-row qualifying position in both events. Throughout this year, when Hamilton has faced difficulties, he has cited a lack of confidence in the car’s rear. This issue recurred in Brazil. At the commencement of the Las Vegas weekend, he stated: “If the team give us a car that doesn’t want to throw itself off, I will have a good weekend.” While he did not encounter this specific problem in Las Vegas, he compromised his qualifying performance by making errors on both his final session laps. This reflects Hamilton’s general qualifying struggles compared to Russell in 2024. The perception is that Hamilton exerts excessive effort during the critical final stages of qualifying, and that contemporary ground-effect cars do not react favorably to an aggressive driving approach, which is Hamilton’s inherent style. Fernando Alonso has also remarked on this, suggesting that driving slightly below the limit can maintain the car’s aerodynamic stability, thereby increasing speed. Concurrently, the Mercedes typically exhibits a vulnerability in slower corners. Navigating these turns necessitates drivers to induce rear-end slide, which in turn elevates tire temperatures. Hamilton has experienced greater difficulty with this aspect than Russell. Essentially, Hamilton has demonstrated speed this year when the car has suited his preferences and he has felt at ease with it, as seen in Silverstone and Spa, both of which he won, and now Las Vegas, where he potentially could have won had it not been for his qualifying mistakes.