Albon's Verdict On Whether Norris Can Challenge Verstappen In 2024

F1
Friday, 16 August 2024 at 16:00
verstappennorris redbull rbcp6
Alex Albon shared whether he believes the Drivers' Championship is within reach for Lando Norris, who is second behind Max Verstappen.
Lando Norris suggested he would give his best in the second part of the season after the summer break. However, it remains to be seen whether he can still close the battle for the Drivers' title.
As it stands, it looks close on track, but it's not close in the Championship table, where Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has a 78-point lead.
If multiple teams emerge better as Red Bull after the summer break, with McLaren being the fastest, the battle might be on, but the 24-year-old McLaren driver would consistently need to finish better than the Dutchman. That wasn't the case before the summer break.
Williams Racing driver Alex Albon shared what he thinks about Norris's chances in the latest interview with RacingNews365. He said:
“"I don't know how much I believe Lando can take it off Max. I look at it more like a constructors' championship battle than a drivers' championship battle. I think that what's great to see is just purely there's a fight."”
While the Thai driver can't really imagine the Dutchman losing the title to Norris, they mentioned the Constructors' Championship, where the battle looks much closer.
McLaren is currently 42 points behind Red Bull, and as opposed to the Drivers' Championship, the gap here has been closing in each of the last races. Albon continued:
“"There's a proper fight up at the top of every race, it seems to be some kind of thing going on. I think last year, last few years, it's always been the midfield battles that have created any form of racing."”
Albon also pointed out one factor that might play a role in the last ten Grand Prix races of the season: Verstappen is already used to the pressure that comes with the battle for the title, while the McLaren driver is new to it.
“"And now it's actually the top teams are the ones that are creating the fighting, which is great to see. It's interesting, obviously, Max has been in his position, many a times. For Lando, it's more new for him."”
“"But yeah, I mean, obviously, I'm busy driving my car, but at the same time, when the blue flags do come up it's good to see the battles."”