Britain’s next big F1 hope
We talk to Mclaren teen protege Lando Norris
SPOTTING a future champion is as tough in motor racing as it is in any other sport. For every Damon Hill, Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton, there are countless prospects who don’t make it to the Holy Grail of Formula One. ‘Sure things’ don’t really exist, but 18-yearold Lando Norris comes pretty close.
Over the past three seasons, the Glastonbury youngster has upended the conventional wisdom that drivers need two years in a category of racing to find their feet and mount a title challenge.
Instead, he has dominated categories in his rookie year, becoming the 2015 MSA Formula champion, 2016 Formula Renault Eurocup champion and 2017 Formula 3 European Series champion.
And that stellar record hasn’t gone unnoticed in the F1 paddock: for 2018, Norris will dovetail an attack on the Formula 2 championship with British team Carlin (kicking off in Bahrain this weekend) alongside test and reserve driver duties for Mclaren.
So what is it about Norris that allows him to always hit the ground running in a new car and a new environment? “I think it’s just preparation, really,” he says. “So far in my career, I’ve always been able to test in the following year’s car, so it’s just been a case of maximising whatever days I have.
“I’m able to adapt to a new car easily and quickly, so if I have five days of testing, it takes me maybe the first morning to get used to the car.
“After that I can be trying to maximise things and learn as much as I can. Also, I’ve always raced with teams I know are capable of winning titles, so the only reason I wouldn’t do it is if I didn’t do a good enough job.”
Given his track record over the past three seasons, many are expecting Norris to dominate the 2018 F2 season in much the same way as new Sauber F1 driver Charles Leclerc did in 2017.
Norris is more circumspect, though, saying: “It’s going to be a different challenge to what I’m used to. I’m going in with confidence, but it’s going to be tricky, especially at the start of the season. We don’t really know where we are compared with the other teams.
“Wins are what I’m going for; they could come early in the year, or they could come later. Finishing in the top three is my aim really – this isn’t a championship I have to win.
“Mclaren wants me to learn as much as possible and go about things the way an F1 driver would,
give the kind of feedback an F1 engineer would look for. So if there is the opportunity to step into the F1 car, I’ll already be where I need to be.”
So when can we expect to see Norris in Formula One full time? Now that he’s on the verge of arriving, career planning becomes a little trickier, with the moves of other drivers coming into play.
“I’m doing F2 this year, I don’t know about next year,” he says simply. “It really depends if Fernando [Alonso] decides that he wants to do something else!
“I’ve done two F1 tests now, so I know what I’m able to do and where I need to be. I’m not quite there yet: I’m fast over one lap, but it’s about being able to deliver that every lap, every race, every season.
“I just need the consistency that someone like Lewis or Fernando has had for years. I know that’s where I need to improve and sometimes that just comes with time.”
It seems certain that the consistency he seeks will come and Norris will get the F1 chance he deserves, but while that will represent the end of one journey from karting to the pinnacle of motorsport, it will also be the start of the struggle to forge a long and successful career at racing’s top level. Norris makes no bones about how he sees things playing out from there. “I want to be remembered for being a very good driver, for being a bit different from the rest and [winning] a championship or two,” he declares.
“I want to be someone like Senna, Schumacher or Hamilton – drivers who’ve stood out from the rest.”
“I want to be like Schumacher, Senna or Hamilton – drivers who’ve stood out from the rest” LANDO NORRIS F2 driver and Mclaren tester