Four F1 Drivers Identified As Potential Future World Champions By Hill

Sunday, 06 October 2024 at 10:51

Updated at Sunday, 06 October 2024 at 10:53

1996 World Champion Damon Hill pinpointed four F1 drivers on the current grid without titles who he thinks could win them in the near future.

As it stands, there are only three Formula 1 drivers on the grid in 2024 who have already won a title: Fernando Alonso (twice), Max Verstappen (three times), and Lewis Hamilton (seven times).

While all three are still very competitive and might fight for more titles in the upcoming seasons, someone else will inevitably win the Championship soon.

But which of the remaining 17 drivers could it be? Former F1 driver and the 1996 Champion for Williams, Damon Hill pinpointed four, starting with Lando Norris. He told the F1 Explains podcast:

"I think he [Norris] has got the ingredients. I think he's got the qualities. I think he's got that dissatisfaction with second place. I saw some comments he made over the summer break, where he said he wasn't good enough in the early part of this season."

"That's the sign of someone who's really going to put himself to the test. He's not going to be comfortable just being good enough. He wants to be the best."

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Norris is the only driver who could still win the 2024 Championship. To do that, he has to outperform Verstappen by more than 8.6 points every weekend. The next driver on Hill's list is the second McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri:

"Give Oscar [Piastri] a few more seasons, as many seasons as Lando has had, and he'll have learned so much more."

"He'll look back at his performances now and realize he didn't have the ingredients he needs yet. He's still learning. He's got the talent, definitely, and he's got the determination. I'm very impressed with Oscar."

Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone recently stated that the 23-year-old will become a World Champion within two years if he can have a competitive car.

Damon Hill also mentioned the Mercedes driver George Russell and Charles Leclerc from the Ferrari F1 team, as he added:

"I would not discount George Russell. I think George is definitely a contender. And Charles Leclerc is a typical Ferrari driver in many ways. It's win or bust with Charles, it seems to me, but you can win a championship like that."