A great drive, Lando, shame about the car
Rising star sets pulses racing but can he win in a McLaren?
THE unnerving development for this slightly anxious passenger was Typhoon Kong-rey coming our way. A hearty wind was already blowing through Suzuka’s figure-of-eight circuit.
I climbed into the low-slung seats of the McLaren 720S — 0-60 in 2.6 seconds, 0-100 in 5.3 — to be met by the grinning face and outstretched hand of Lando Norris, who next season will become the most exciting British debutant since Lewis Hamilton invaded the awareness of the wider world in 2007.
‘Do you want me to go flat?’ he asked. For pride’s sake, I said yes.
So off we set from the grid with a ferocity that seemed to mock the official acceleration figures. I clutched the armrest, but once your senses are satisfied that man-boy and machine are trustworthy you sit back and enjoy this privileged ride.
We arrive at the start of the back straight with an Aston Martin, driven by former F1 racer Karun Chandhok, in our sights. He indicates left for us to pass, and off we belt. Some 170mph later, Lando hits the brake to take us quick dancing on tip-toes around the famous 130R bend.
The Aston Martin is a speck in our mirrors by now.
In fact, Lando, 18, came to offer me a lap with clear instructions from above. With tongue slightly in cheek, one of the McLaren staff explained to me: ‘Lando will pay you back for all the “Freddo” stories and he has been told go for it.’ This is a reference to our revelations that team personnel were rewarded for their hard work by being handed chocolate bars, 25-pence Freddos.
The point these stories raised will follow Lando around next year, for they spoke of the problems, including low morale, besetting a team that on this track 30 years ago locked out the front row of the grid and took a one-two as Ayrton Senna won the world drivers’ title. Yesterday, McLaren were the slowest cars in qualifying, saved only from last spot by the error-prone Marcus Ericsson veering off the track. The worst of the typhoon stayed away but a few specks of rain fell.
I asked Lando, who is too cheery to be weighed down by ‘Freddo-gate’, how he would cope if McLaren show little improvement in 2019? The McLaren PR machine called a stop to that line of questioning, a censoring that betrayed a certain sensitivity.
But how different are the prospects for Lando than for Hamilton, who fell a point short of winning the world title in his debut season in 2007. The world champion has not been in touch since the younger man’s imminent elevation from Formula Two was confirmed last month.
‘I don’t have Lewis’s number,’ said Norris. ‘I don’t think we have ever spoken. Maybe once.’
Japanese fans are fanatical, clicking their cameras at every opportunity. Lando went for a quiet dinner the other night and emerged to find a crowd patiently waiting outside. Life is slowly changing for the great hope who likes nothing more — other than driving fast — than to sit quietly in his studio designing art, including his helmet.
The yellow helmet he was wearing for our hot lap is the design he will carry when next season starts in Melbourne. He could be joined there, possibly in the Williams car, by another new Brit, Mercedesbacked George Russell, the Formula Two leader. Norris, who is two years his junior, lies third.
Lando’s CV is also stellar. A highlight was becoming world karting champion at 14, a year younger than Hamilton. He also dominated Formula Three last year.
‘Nothing has really changed in my life since I was announced in Formula One, except I guess more people asking for autographs,’ he said in that happy-golucky way of his.
This is only the start of it, though. He should ask Lewis, if only he had his number.