'Red Bull Have Never Been Fourth-Best Team': Norris Couldn't Win 'Even With Perfect Season'
F1Thursday, 28 November 2024 at 12:08
Lando Norris, who lost the 2024 drivers' championship battle with Max Verstappen, asserted it wasn't possible for him to win even with a perfect season.
McLaren Racing F1 driver Lando Norris officially lost his last chance to win the drivers' championship title after the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he finished behind his rival Max Verstappen.
With two race weekends to go, Verstappen increased his gap to 62 points, which is enough for him to secure the championship title even if he missed all three remaining races (two grand prix and one sprint).
Lando Norris told the media already after the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix that he felt the championship was decided and revealed that he couldn't sleep for two days following that race.
After the 204 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Norris seemed to be in better spirits. As reported by Motorsport Week, the McLaren Racing F1 driver said:
"I'm very proud of the whole team for putting up the fight for so long, for starting to catch up and catching up as much as we did."
"We were the fourth-best team at the beginning of the year. Red Bull have never been the fourth-best team, or worst let's say, ever."
"We had just too big of a [points] deficit to catch up from the beginning of the season and we could not because they've been too strong still."
The 24-year-old also went on to suggest that he could not have won this year's championship title even if he and McLaren had a perfect season.
"No one else is there fighting him. It's been me, and it's been McLaren, so I'm proud of what we've achieved."
"Could we have done some things better? Absolutely. Do I think we could have won the championship even with a perfect season? I don't. I'm happy to finish second still."
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