Lando Norris duelled Max Verstappen for the Norris for the 2024 world championship crown. The Brit fell short as the Dutchman claimed his fourth title in a row. However, Norris helped McLaren secure their first WCC since 1998.
With the experience of his title run-in and the car underneath him, Norris should be in good stead to challenge for the championship again in 2025. Norris has said that he and McLaren are “out of excuses” as he looks to stop Verstappen’s dominance.
Lando Norris claims there are no more excuses
With the points set to zero and everyone eagerly anticipating lights out in Australia, Lando Norris must be considered the favourite for the title. McLaren ended the season at the top of the pile and Norris now has valuable experience fighting for a title. He claims there is no reason why he can’t win his first championship.
Lando Norris on his 2025 F1 Title chances:
“After last year, I think we kind of have no excuses. I guess in the past, we’ve had our fair share. I think this year we kind of don’t have any. We have nothing to hide behind.”
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[📸 @LN4 ] pic.twitter.com/6yZWTTmLPi— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) February 18, 2025
The 25-year-old said: “After last year, I think we kind of have no excuses. I guess in the past, we’ve had our fair share. I think this year we kind of don’t have any. We have nothing to hide behind. We proved last year we have everything we need and everything it takes to fight at the top and be the best.”
A slow start to last season cost Norris as Verstappen sped off. It was always a tall order to catch the flying Dutchman. However, Norris believes McLaren’s mentality has changed and the team aims to fly out of the traps.
Did lack of experience fighting at the top cost Lando Norris?
McLaren had a car capable of winning any race from the Miami Grand Prix. Norris was able to show his speed after putting his car in pole position in nine sprints and regular races. However, his starts cost him places on most occasions. The most jarring of these occasions came in Hungary and Italy when he lost the lead to his teammate and was unable to regain it.
He made critical mistakes in races during tricky conditions. He went off in Canada when chasing down Verstappen, meaning he lost out on a win. Brazil was also a bad race for Norris as after a bad start, he mistakes after restarts, costing him valuable points.
McLaren isn’t blameless either. They were too slow out the blocks at the beginning of the season, ultimately giving Norris too big of a mountain to climb. The pit wall also made some questionable strategy calls, most notably in Silverstone which cost Norris the chance of winning. They often made conservative calls in their strategy calls
McLaren also failed to favour Norris in the title fight. They could have asked Piatri to move out the way in Monza, while in Hungary, Norris should have stayed ahead of Piastri. These moments contributed to Norris losing points and falling short.
