Against Red Bull slavery
Hype about Lando Norris – the savior of Formula 1?
24.05.2024, 11:14 a.m.
After years of servitude under Red Bull, Formula 1 is dreaming of new excitement. McLaren’s upswing is having a lasting effect – but is perhaps accompanied by a little too much euphoria. People are already asking: “Can Lando Norris dominate Formula 1 like Senna once did?”
For once, the Savior is not wearing papaya orange. In Monaco, Lando Norris is currently racing in yellow, green and blue, the colors of Ayrton Senna – it is a tribute to the racing icon, but somehow it also fits the current mood in Formula 1: Norris in the McLaren, the savior of the premier class, is already being compared to the really big names here and there.
Three weeks ago, the Englishman celebrated the first Formula 1 victory of his career, beating world champion Max Verstappen. A victory that was a general relief, “like Ayrton Senna’s in 1991 in his native Brazil,” said former British driver Martin Brundle. And Sky Sports, also from England, is now even asking the question: “Can Lando Norris dominate Formula 1 like Senna once did?”
After years of servitude under Red Bull, Formula 1 is longing for a new hero, even before the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday (3 p.m./Sky and in the live ticker at ntv.de)Norris himself, 24 years old, is rather reserved. He is aware of his personal upswing, “but I don’t want to go into the races with excessive self-confidence, that’s not my style.”
“He is the director, we are his cast”
There is no doubt that Red Bull, which has been virtually unbeatable since the beginning of 2022, has a rival – and an unexpected one at that. Everyone was always looking at Mercedes and Ferrari, while McLaren was still in the lower midfield in the middle of last year. However, the fundamentals have always been there for the racing team from Woking, and under the new team boss Andrea Stella, things have been slowly but steadily improving since then. “He is the director, we are his cast,” says Norris of the Italian.
The big leap came in early May in Miami, when Norris even outran world champion Verstappen with extensive updates to the car. Since then, the traditional team has become more confident every week. Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri said after Miami that the belief in regular victories was “naive”. At the following race in Imola, Norris was only 0.7 seconds away from another triumph, chasing Verstappen to the finish.
“I’m 60 points behind Max …”
McLaren’s upswing with the revised car has had a lasting effect, and former world champion Nigel Mansell even sees it as “the best car in the field at the moment”. However, this will hardly solve the real problem of this Formula 1 year: after just under a third of the season, Verstappen has already pulled away. “I’m 60 points behind Max, which is quite a long way,” says Norris himself. And the general feeling that Red Bull is less overpowering is put into context by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc: “I don’t want to kill the suspense, but we should wait a few more races before making a judgment.”
But the premier class can at least hope for a few more interesting weekends, and Norris also sees it that way. “It was about time,” he says, that someone put Verstappen under pressure, “he hasn’t felt that for quite a while.” Norris wants to do that again in Monaco, and also afterwards, when the McLaren is wearing papaya orange again.