Should he beat Max Verstappen to the Formula 1 title, Lando Norris will be getting a very special prize from his McLaren boss.
We’re a third of the way through the 2024 season and, as expected, Verstappen has a commanding lead in the standings having won five of eight races.
A 69 point gap to second-place Norris, means the Dutch driver can afford to sit out the next to grand prix in Austria and Silverstone and still remain at the top.
However, unlike last year when Red Bull was unbeatable, the gap in pace between the leading teams is marginal, with McLaren emerging as the reigning champions’ biggest threat.
Norris won his first ever F1 race in Miami back in May and after narrowly missing out on victory last time out in Spain, the British driver moved into second in the championship for the first time in his career.
That’s not enough for the 24-year-old who believes it is possible to overtake Verstappen or at the very least challenge him and Red Bull for the title next year when McLaren’s machinery may well be the best on the grid.
‘I believe I can achieve a championship at McLaren, that’s why I signed another contract,’ he told the Telegraph.
‘I absolutely think I can go up against Max and give him a good challenge. But I also rate Max, it’s extremely difficult for anyone to challenge him for a world championship.
‘Anyway, I look like a bit of a genius [staying with McLaren] now, don’t I?’
He later added to BBC Sport: ‘We could go on and win races. I definitely think that’s possible with how the team are performing and how I’m performing.
‘But we’re against one of the best drivers ever in F1 and one of the best performing teams in F1 and then you have everyone else apart from that who can easily get in the mix too.
‘Everything needs to be executed perfectly well and last weekend everything was not executed perfectly well and that one thing that wasn’t. That’s where it cost us.’
Becoming world champion is every F1 driver’s ambition, but if he succeeds Norris will also claim a special prize, courtesy of McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
‘I’ve got a deal with Zak – that if I win the championship he has to get me a car,’ he revealed.
‘I’ve specified which car. We shook on it, but that’s all I’m saying. There’s a long way to go, it’s still a lot of points. But who knows?’
For now, the focus is on this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, with more points on offer due to it being a Sprint event.
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