Papa Norris’ Prophecy for Lando Nearly Comes True, as Attempt to Witness Miami Heroics in Imola Turns Unsuccessful

Lando Norris came out with a feisty message after winning the Miami GP, as he posted on his Instagram that this is just the beginning and there’s more to come. The Brit instilled his confidence in McLaren and it’s paying off as Lando Norris’ father’s prophecy almost came true at the Imola GP, as the Miami GP winner came close to repeating his heroics from the race in Florida. 

Lando Norris qualified P3 for the Emilia Romagna GP but started the race in P2 after Oscar Piastri was given a penalty for the incident with Magnussen in qualifying. With less than a tenth second between Verstappen and Norris in qualifying, many expected the race to be very close throughout the Grand Prix, but that was not the case.

Max Verstappen took the lead and flew away into the distance, creating a gap of 6 odd seconds and maintaining it until the last 10 laps. The Dutchman suddenly lost grip in his front tires as the tire temperatures started to drop, and was leaking time to Norris in P2. The Brit was pushing his McLaren to the absolute limit and came within a second of winning the race. Another lap and Norris probably would’ve taken the win. 

Surprisingly, his father, Adam Norris, almost predicted his son’s future for the Imola GP. As he was on the grid, Papa Norris was asked if his son could win the race, to which he replied, “Maybe”. Only if Norris could’ve won in front of his dad, making it back-to-back wins, the McLaren garage would’ve definitely erupted.

Regardless of how it is, McLaren and Ferrari’s upgrades have made the championship more interesting than the 2023 season. 

Lando Norris speaks about McLaren’s pace after the Miami upgrades

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been underplaying McLaren’s performance since the start of the season. Every time McLaren suggested they wouldn’t be strong on a circuit, the team either won or scored a podium at that race. Norris has now come out to praise the McLaren upgrades that have put them in a position to fight with Ferrari and McLaren as he expects to win more races in the future.

Explaining how he’s now aiming for race wins, Lando Norris, said, “We’ve been competitive all weekend and I think we’re at the point where we’re able to fight Ferrari and Red Bull consistently. We must get used to that – the team is doing a very good job, so it’s great that fighting at the front is now business-as-usual. We just need to keep focused on improving. It’s still a surprise to say it’s frustrating to not win, but after last weekend and the improvements we made, it’s what we should start to expect”

Do you think McLaren has got what it takes to challenge Red Bull for the constructors’ title?