F1: Lando Norris’ alarming spiral: why is he making so many mistakes with such a fast McLaren?

The boy fascinated with Richard Burnsworld champion of rallies With Subaru in 2001, he was able to make his way into motorsport thanks to Adamhis father, a peculiar businessman whose fortune exceeds 200 million euros. The teenager who wrote down in a notebook every pothole and every kerb on the circuits he passed, made the jump to McLaren at just 19 years old and became lifelong friends with Carlos Sainz. The great hope of Zak Brownwho had secured him a four-year contract in Woking, bravely endured the criticism and knew how to bide his time. Until last May 5, Lando Norris won his first F1 race in Miami, confirming himself as the only alternative to Max Verstappenanother of his close friends on the grid. This weekend, at the wheel of the fastest car, the contender will be present at the Singapore GP with no margin for error. There is no room for further hesitation in front of the three-time champion. It is now or never for Norris.

There has always been something about his naturalness, the invariable smile with which he walks around the paddock, that captivated people. During his six seasons in the Grand Circus, Norris has shown himself as he is. A boy who enjoys what he does. A driver for whom F1 is not a job. A star who improves his performance when he arrives at the circuit with a clear mind after a few hours of golf or Call of DutyHowever, in recent weeks Lando has lost his desire to joke.

Norris’s string of errors gives us a hint of the vertigo that grips someone who sees himself as the champion. And this lack of confidence is evident on and off the track. In his radio messages and in his statements to the press. Demons are swirling around the McLaren leader. He is accused of lacking a killer instinct when it comes to Verstappen. How can it be that a few days ago they both shared a plane to Baku? Where have we seen two title rivals fraternize like this before a race?

“We have done an incredible job”

Last March, Norris finished eighth in the Bahrain GP, ​​48 seconds behind the winner. Mad Max McLaren won that opening round, as well as three of the following four. After that mediocre start, 99 points behind the leader of the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren was able to extract the full potential of its car and completely reversed the trend. Today, the MCL-38 outperforms Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull in speed and consistency. It simply adapts better to each circuit. Just yesterday, at Marina Bay, Norris led Verstappen by more than a second during the second free practice session. Another achievement by Brown and Andrea Starits chief operating officer, capable of taking the Papaya single-seaters to the top of the World Championship for the first time since 2014.

“We have done an incredible job. To beat Red Bull and be the best team is something we should be very proud of,” admitted Norris after his stressful weekend in Baku, where after being eliminated in Q1 he had to climb 11 positions. Another mistake in his diabolical spiral. From the bad starts in Montmeló and Hungaroring, both starting from the start, poleto the final hook-up with Verstappen in Austria. Not to mention his over-braking during a pit-stop at Silverstone or the walk through the gravel on the first lap of the Belgian GP. To complete the disasters, McLaren abused an overly conservative strategy at Monza, giving rise to multiple comments about the need to give priority to Norris over Oscar Plates.

Despite going seven races without a win, Verstappen still has a 59-point lead. If Norris wants to retain the crown, he needs to outscore the leader by an average of 8.4 points over the last seven races, including three. sprint racesThe most worrying thing for the Briton is that he only managed to achieve that margin in Australia, when the Red Bull driver had to retire due to an engine failure.

Better in 10 of the 12 sectors

That spring is now far away for the people of Christian Hornerbecause his RB-20 is becoming more unpredictable every day. Just yesterday, it was the slowest car in FP2 in the first three corners of Marina Bay. In addition, according to the official F1 graph, Norris managed to beat Verstappen in 10 of the 12 sectors of the track. These figures speak as much of Red Bull’s debacle as of the improvement of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. For the first time in 47 years, four teams have won at least three races in the same season. And since 2012, there have not been at least seven drivers with a victory.

Under these premises, McLaren should emerge as the main candidate for the constructors’ title, an achievement beyond its reach in the last 25 seasons. Not even in the 2007 World Championship, with Fernando Alonso y Lewis Hamiltonsince she was disqualified due to the fault of the Spygate. Now, with Piastri displaying his fabulous overtaking ability, the people of Woking are really dreaming big. However, to complete the circle, Brown will have to clarify the hierarchy between Norris and his Australian teammate.

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