Lando Norris

## Career Overview

### **McLaren (2019 - Present)**

2018 F2 runner up Lando Norris moved up to McLaren for 2019, to replace the outed Carmen Jorda. Norris would share the drive with Toyota protege Nobuharu Matsushita, following Toyota offering McLaren an undisclosed cash sum in return for Matsushita to compete in select races. A very impressive debut from the Brit saw him start from inside the top 12, and finish the race in 8th. Whereas team mate Haryanto started 13th and finished in 14th.

On return at the Spanish Grand Prix, Norris could only manage 15th in qualifying. Come the race however, the Brit would show unworldly pace late in the race to take 3rd place, taking advantage of one less pit stop. This was McLaren's first podium since 2016.

Despite the 2019 season ending four races early, Norris' debut season was impressive.

#### **2020**

The new season would start disastrously for Norris. He would put the Alfa Romeo of Josh Tirowee out of the race, and later car issues left Norris in 19th. Norris' best result came at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Brit started outside of the top 10, Norris started on Mediums, and was able to do the race with one less stop than those in the top 10. Running in the top three for much of the race, the McLaren driver ran his own race to secure a crucial 10 points for McLaren.

#### **2021**

Lando Norris started his third season with the Woking team, eager to exploit the possible potential of the car in the early rounds. He'd have to be a fast learner if he's to be on the same level as new team mate, the 2019 Champion Mick Schumacher.

An encouraging opening race confirmed McLaren's early season pace. Both Schumacher and Norris were able to compete at the head of the midfield. The MCL35B came alive in Round two. COTA short had been a strong circuit for McLaren, and 2021 was no different. Mick Schumacher took his first pole for the team, as the team's first in almost 10 years. Both cars were strong in the race, with only the Renault of Esteban Ocon challenging. Lando Norris eventually went on to record his first victory in F1. This was also McLaren's first win since 2012. McLaren also gained the lead of the Constructor's Championship for the first time in the V6 Turbo-Hybrid era.

Norris went from hero to zero at the next race at Mexico. On the opening lap onto the stadium section, Norris tried to make a three-wide overtake, launching over the curb, Norris lost the rear and took off the front wing of Josh Tirowee's Alfa Romeo.

Despite an abrupt end to the season, Norris showed he's a star of the future, taking McLaren's first win since 2012, on his way to 7th overall.

#### **2022**

The engine supplier may be new, but McLaren's driver lineup remains unchanged. After putting up an unexpected title challenge using a glorified 2020 car, 2019 Champion, Mick Schumacher and one time to date race winner Lando Norris look to be the dark horses again in this year's coming title race if McLaren can fast track their understanding of their car.

McLaren implemented a brake upgrade for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Schumacher didn't get to put them to the test, as a front brake failure sent him into Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri on lap 2 of the race. Norris scored a consecutive 12th place finish.

McLaren's best race of the season to date came at Round 5, Singapore. In changing conditions, McLaren was able to play the strategy to perfection, securing a third place finish for Lando Norris. Schumacher backed this up with a sixth place finish.

McLaren brought a new floor upgrade to the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. The Woking outfit aims to pull clear of Toyota, and gain ground on Williams. Mick Schumacher finished 5th in FP1, ahead of both Williams. Both McLarens were in the top 5 at the end of FP3. Norris qualified 11th and Schumacher 13th, both behind Albon's Williams in 10th. Norris finished the race in 8th, with Schumacher 12th.

Norris secured McLaren's second P3 of the season at the United States Grand Prix, fully capitalizing on the misfortune of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari. Norris moved ahead of George Russell to 11th in the standings.

Norris maximized all he could from the MCL36, with two podiums and finishing ahead of the works Mercedes of Russell in 11th.

#### **2023**

Lando Norris put on a charge towards the end of 2022, taking two podiums along the way. Signing a new contract through 2024, the Brit remains keen to build with McLaren.

McLaren's 'true' MCL60 took to the track at the Austrian Grand Prix, with the car being described as B-Spec car minus the chassis. McLaren ran strongly in FP1 with Piastri 5th on Softs, and Norris 10th on Mediums. Norris completed the top 3 in FP2, whilst Piastri struggled on long runs down in 15th. Norris was again at the sharp in final practice with 4th. Norris was the only McLaren in Q3 with 8th. Piastri couldn't get to grips with the MCL60 when it mattered and lined up only 18th. For the first time since 2020 drivers were being lapped. Piastri and Stroll were the first to go to Tirowee. Norris was on a late charge, but Alonso was never going to let a McLaren go easily and the Brit and had to settle for 6th.

Ralph Boschung's efforts were also noticed by McLaren, who granted the Swiss his first F1 outing during first practice for the British Grand Prix. Sette Camara was pushing for glory and climbed all over the back of Leclerc's Ferrari, before making a move stick on lap 7. The Brazilian's glory was short lived, as on lap 8 the tyre wear kicked in early once again and the TRD123 was a sitting duck for Leclerc, Norris and Tirowee. Norris sent the home crown wild when he took the lead on lap 9, with Leclerc now facing his own tyre troubles. Norris and most of the grid pit at the end of lap 12. Most boxed for Hards, whilst McLaren were risking it all for a home win and opted for Mediums. Tirowee used this opportunity to pounce on the McLaren that had to nurse the tyres early in the stint to move into the lead. Norris went on the attack on lap 24 to steal back the lead with only two laps remaining. Tirowee also had some life left in his Hards and the two-time Champion reasserted himself on the penultimate lap. Norris pushed the Red Bull all the way on the final lap, but couldn't find a way back past and had to settle for second. Tirowee held on to victory by 0.266s.

McLaren had their best combined qualifying since 2021, with Norris 5th, half a tenth quicker than Piastri 6th for the Dutch Grand Prix. It was a relatively calm start to the Dutch Grand Prix, as Tirowee controlled the pace whilst Verstappen slipped into 2nd. McLaren began to further understand the upgraded MCL60, and Piastri moved into 3rd at the end of lap 1. One lap later, the Australian moved past the defending World Champion into 2nd. Piastri's glory was short lived, as onto lap 4, Verstappen reclaimed the runner up position. At the other end of the grid, Sargant had made a good start, up to 18th, but lost ground on lap 5 to Tsunoda. McLaren played the team game, as on lap 8 Piastri allowed Norris through to challenge Verstappen for 2nd. The front runners began to pit at the end of lap 15. Home hero Verstappen had to go a lap longer was was undercut by Piastri. McLaren once again played a different strategy with Norris. The Brit ran until lap 18 to box for Hards. The Hards weren't switching on for Norris in the overcast conditions, and the McLaren fell behind Gasly and Schumacher. Two laps later, Norris found himself at the mercy of Alonso. Gasly found plenty of pace on his Mediums and the Frenchman demoted Piastri off the podium. The rookie fought back at the Alpine but ultimately had no answer. Norris' Hards finally came in on lap 32 and the McLaren driver moved back ahead of Alonso. Piastri had his best finish to date in 4th. Norris recovered back to 6th ahead of Alonso.

It was an extremely wet start to qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, but the sky was brightening up. Four big names were caught out in the transition from Wets to Inters at the end of Q1. The track was drying rapidly throughout Q2, but Inters was still the way to go. The track was just about dry enough at the end of Q3 for Softs, with last over the line having the best track conditions. Piastri lined up lead McLaren in 8th, with Norris 9th. Changeable conditions returned for the race. All 20 drivers survived the opening lap without damage. The red flag was out on lap 5, as Carlos Sainz's day ended early, and Liam Lawson collected the Ferrari in the process. By the time the AlphaTauri and Ferrari had been cleared away, the sun was out and the track was dry. 17/18 remaining drivers were on Drys. Toyota made a catastrophic error and fitted the Brazilian's TRD123 with Inters. The skies began to darken once more by lap 18. Two laps later, the Heavens opened and it was time for Inters once more. In a desperate bid to regain lost track position, Albon and Norris attempted another lap on Drys, which would only drop the pair further behind. Schumacher brought out a second red flag on lap 29, when the German had an identical crash to Sainz.

It was a four lap sprint to the end on Full Wets. The pressure of a resurgent Piastri could've been getting to Norris, as the one time race winner plowed into the back of Leclerc at the hairpin, and had to box with damage. Oscar Piastri secured his first podium finish, with 2nd. This result also moved McLaren ahead of Williams in the Constructor's to 7th, despite Sargeant finishing 4th.

Norris put the lap together to secure pole for the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen. Verstappen stole the lead from Norris, whilst Tirowee moved up to 5th. Schumacher started on Softs and needed to make moves quickly. Williams suffered another mechanical retirement, but this time to Logan Sargeant's car. The Safety Car was deployed, allowing the FW45 to be cleared. Norris lead back to green at the end of lap 7. Norris had a comfortable lead over team mate Piastri on lap 14, but a rear right suspension failure forced the Brit to retire. It's not the first time a McLaren looked odds on for victory before it all went wrong.

F1's newest race winner, Oscar Piastri proved very popular with the media as the teams rocked into Singapore. Norris took over where Red Bull left off to top FP1 from Piastri and Schumacher. Norris was again the form driver in FP2 from Hamilton and Schumacher. Norris secured an easy 5 points with pole over six tenths to Piastri. The final Wildcard race of the season started dry, but rain was projected later on. A traditional lightning start from Alonso saw the Spaniard in the lead by turn 2. Alonso was pulling clear on lap 5, until a loss of hydraulic pressure in the AMG Power Unit forced the four-time Champion to retire from the race just as the rain began to fall. Most drivers pit for Inters at the end of lap 5, whilst Lawson and Hamilton went on for another lap, looking to gain positions by avoiding the crowded pitlane. Neither driver would get the chance to make a stop as Albon crashed heavily and brought out the red flag. The rain only got heavier during the race stoppage. 17/19 drivers opted to restart on Full Wets, whilst Lawson and Hamilton gambled with the Inters. The McLarens swarmed Hamilton at the restart, whilst Lawson kept his composure to lead a lap for the first time in his career. This second gamble didn't pay off as the New Zealander pit at the end of lap 8 for Wets, along with Hamilton. Norris retook the lead from Schumacher and Tsunoda. Despite the tricky track conditions, there was a few laps of calm until Magnussen pit at the end of lap 18 for Inters. At the end of the next lap, nearly every other driver also made the change. The Dane gained a handful of places with the undercut. Piastri, Zhou and Sainz tried to do something different and stay out on Wets, but all 3 had to admit defeat at the end of lap 21 and also pit for Inters. Conditions aside, Norris had it easy to dominate around the Marina Bay to take the victory by over 11 seconds from Schumacher.