Norris Compared To Senna, Schumacher, And Hamilton After Singapore Performance

F1
Thursday, 26 September 2024 at 12:00
norris lando mclaren52

Former F1 driver David Coulthard was stunned by Lando Norris's performance at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix and compared the McLaren driver to all-time greats.

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris won the 18th round of the 2024 season in Singapore by more than 20 seconds ahead of everyone.

The McLaren driver qualified on the pole, led every single lap of the race, won, and would have also scored the fastest lap to complete the Grand Slam if Daniel Ricciardo hadn't snatched the fastest lap from him at the end.

Nevertheless, it was a showcase of McLaren's power and a superior driver by the Norris, which impressed David Coulthard. He told Channel 4:

"It's a masterclass, and a kiss [with the wall] without removing a corner shows he's got it down to perfection."
"The only one that really surprised me was at the end of the lap when he had that lock up, and then he ended up at [turn] 14 just touching the TECPRO barrier. Otherwise, flawless, what a performance, human, and machine in perfect harmony."

The touch with the TECPRO barrier came on lap 30. It was Norris's in-lap (the lap before changing tires), and he was pushing hard to squeeze the last bit of performance from his medium tires.

On that lap, he was already one second faster than his fastest lap before making a mistake under breaking into turn number 14, which ultimately lost him about five seconds.

The 24-year-old was lucky that five seconds was the only thing it cost him. There was no margin left, as he just managed to steer away from the wall. In fact, his left hand brushed the barrier. Coulthard continued:

"He was like that from the first practice on Friday, had the upper hand on Oscar, who did a really solid job to come back through and pick up that podium."
"It's almost like Lando; he's so humble and approachable, he doesn't realize how great and significant his performances are right now."
"I'm talking in a squeaky voice here, but I want to put him in the [Ayrton] Senna, [Michael] Schumacher, [Lewis] Hamilton at his best type performances. We can all win a Grand Prix by getting a bit lucky, but this was exceptional."