Lando Norris made his Formula 1 debut in 2019 with McLaren and last season he agreed with the team on a new contract until the 2025 season. This is despite the fact that the team is currently not close to fighting for the world championship title.
Last year, the team came fifth in the Constructors’ Championship. The previous year, the team had come fourth.
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– It’s not always that simple
Now the Englishman is back with former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button after saying he was “surprised” the 23-year-old signed a new long-term contract with McLaren.
-. The thing about Formula 1 is that you can be the best driver in the world, but not in the best car, and it’s not your fault, Norris answers in an interview with Palestinian Authority News Agency.
Button himself drove seven seasons with McLaren. The year before he joined McLaren, he became world champion with the newly started Brawn GP team in 2009.
Norris believes Button and Lewis Hamilton had very different assumptions when they captained the team.
Lewis (Hamilton) came to McLaren (in 2007) when he won the world championship and ran from the start. It makes you look good. If he had joined McLaren now, he would not have won any races and would not have been close to the driver he is today and all he has achieved, the 23-year-old believes.
Hamilton became world champion with McLaren in 2008 and has since become world champion six more times. This makes him the driver who has won the most World Championship titles, with seven. In addition, he is the driver who has won the most races. He has managed to win a total of 103 Formula 1 races.
Michael Schumacher has also won the World Championship seven times, and is also the driver with the second most race wins with 91 victories.
He was wanted by Red Bull
Button believes the McLaren driver should be driving a team that can win races at this point in his career.
– I respect people’s opinions – especially Jensen because he’s been through a lot of this – so I take that very seriously. I don’t ignore it. I understand little of what he says. But if someone talks about me, I laugh at them and move on. Norris replies: A few years ago, it would probably have been a source of anxiety for me.
Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, who are believed to be the best teams in Formula 1, are said to have been interested in Norris before signing the new deal with McLaren.
On the other hand, the Englishman says that he does not regret anything.
– We looked at what was offered, but I believe in McLaren and I want to believe in it – the team that gave me a chance in Formula 1, says the charismatic driver, who thinks it will mean more to win with McLaren than it actually does is the best.
– It would mean more if we could finally win the World Cup, rather than just jump into the car and win the title, although I would have loved that too.
McLaren received a lot of criticism during testing in Bahrain last weekend because the team seemed to struggle with too many things and simply had a bad car.
– At the moment it is difficult and I wish we were more advanced than we are, the Englishman replies to the criticism.
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Radical changes to the rules
Prior to last year’s season, drastic changes were made to the rules. Among other things, the cost cap in the Formula 1 circus has been lowered so that the richest teams cannot spend much more money than other teams. Aerodynamic modifications have also been made to ensure less turbulent air behind the cars – providing for closer racing, as the cars can be closer together.
This means that many people have envisioned that there could be more changes dominated by teams. Among other things, Mercedes suffered a lot last season after they failed to build the best car, but McLaren also had big problems last season.
– Last year there should have been an opportunity for us to take advantage of the new rules, we didn’t, and now we have to find that moment, says Norris, who adds:
– It’s tough because I’m not the most patient guy and when you get into Formula 1 you have to learn how to handle it. I did what was best for me and I believed in my decision.
The Formula 1 season begins this weekend in Bahrain with practice on Friday, practice and qualifying on Saturday and races on Sunday.
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