Lando Norris was only a couple of laps away from taking his first win of his career in 2021 at the Russian GP. Running number 1 for almost the entire race, he was ready to clinch the victory until the rain started to come down and he lost the lead as he refused to follow his team’s call for pitting for intermediates. Then what? Lewis Hamilton took the win by pitting first, followed by Max Verstappen, both avoiding the misfortune that had fallen upon Norris. Now, 19 months after that disastrous call, Lando Norris has shared his belief that he could challenge both world champions if he had a car that would allow him to.

Despite having just six podiums to his name, the McLaren driver has been a favorite of many team principals. His potential is believed to be far greater than what his team allows him to show. Hence, he is confident in his abilities to challenge Hamilton and Max Verstappen in a scenario with a competitive car underneath him. For that, however, he will have to wait at least until next year or 2025, when the team’s new wind tunnel and plans come to fruition.

Currently in his fifth season with McLaren, sending caution towards Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the 23-year-old driver, as quoted by Soy Motor from The Race, says, “McLaren is the place where I feel like I can perform at my best version. I am confident that if I were now in a position to measure myself against Max and Lewis, would be able to fight them and be a candidate for the title. I believe it even more for 2024 and more and more for 2025.”

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With this, Norris has also reaffirmed his commitment to McLaren, which will last until the end of the 2025 season as per his contract. Apart from that, all the fans of the sport would want to see the Briton perform well, especially when this season has been nothing short of disappointing.

Lando Norris praises Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen made his debut at just 17, whereas Lando Norris did it at just 19. But the numbers for both drivers have been far from close. So, even when talking about challenging Verstappen for the title, the driver keeps his head down and uses the Dutchman’s career as a learning experience.

He adds, “If you see Max where he was a few years ago, he was a pilot who made many mistakes. Had many accidents. Everyone said that he was beyond the limit and look at him now, he is very complete and professional.”

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Well, it could be said that he is praising the Red Bull driver for his success in F1 so far. Regardless of that, Norris appears determined even after a dismal start to this season, which will surely help him last longer competing in the sport.