The Lando Norris Success Story is Fun But He is Still Miles Behind Verstappen

Lando Norris’ recent F1 Grand Prix finishes have been as follows: P2 (Spain), P2 (Canada), P4 (Monaco), P2 (Imola), P1 (Miami). With these recent successes from both Norris and Mclaren, Lando Norris has found himself in second place in the drivers championship for the first time in his career. Still, Norris finds himself trailing Verstappen who leads by almost 70 points. 

Max Verstappen’s dominance has never been in question in 2024. When looking back at the few lackluster race results that he has had in 2024 they can all be chalked up to a faltering Red Bull Car or some unlucky circumstance where Max was still able to secure solid points (safety car, Monaco red flag, etc). Just because there is no fight for P1 in the standings doesn't mean that Norris doesn't deserve flowers for the way he has the speedy Mclaren running in 2024, but it does mean that Verstappen’s greatness may have been undervalued by many. 

There is a legitimate argument that in this recent stretch of Norris success, Verstappen has been in the third best car on the grid with Mclaren, Ferrari, and even Mercedes being faster cars on certain tracks. Many of Verstappen’s critics have faulted him for only relying on Red Bull’s pace rather than Max’s. This is nothing new as many of the past greats from Vettel to Hamilton have had fantastic cars that are head and shoulders above the rest of the grid. But that is the reality of Formula 1, there will never be a time where everyone has the exact same car and the exact same precedent circumstances. If anything, Sergio Perez’ struggles in the Red Bull as of late just bolsters the idea of Verstappen’s true skill as a driver. 

Lando Norris and Mclaren may continue to better themselves heading into the rest of the 2024 F1 season, but there is no title fight in sight.