Lando Norris – McLaren – Bio, F1 Record, Stats and News

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Lando Norris burst onto the scene after finishing second to another F1 driver George Russell in the 2018 Formula 2 season and his talent has only been proven further by his F1 performances.

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The highly rated Brit seemed unfazed by the prospect of driving for McLaren in F1. Lando has established himself as the lead driver of the team in the past couple of seasons and has been tipped as a future world champion.

The Young F1 Career of Lando Norris In a Mirror

The baby-faced Brit was paired up with the more experienced Carlos Sainz for his debut season in F1. Lando was supposed to be in for a tough time against a driver of Carlos’ caliber, but Lando held his ground, and even if he lost out to his teammate in the standings that first year, he won the qualifying battle 11-10. Lando would have amassed a lot more points if it weren’t for a few unfortunate mishaps that were out of his hands.

For example, the Brit faced a myriad of technical issues in his rookie season and lost multiple points scoring finishes because of them. He was set to record his career-best finish of 5th in Belgium after impressing in the opening laps, but suffered a power failure on his final lap. Similarly, at the Japanese Grand Prix, Norris was fighting for fifth place when Alex Albon crashed with him. Lando could only recover for an 11th-place finish in that race.

The First Podium Came In His Second Season

Lando started off his 2020 season in fine style, capitalizing on an error by Lewis Hamilton error to get on the podium for the season opener. He built upon that impressive opening weekend and finished multiple times in the top five. He helped McLaren secure third place in the championship that season. He was only 8 points off his vastly experienced teammate, and for the second year in a row, he outqualified his teammate 9-8.

The opening weekend of the 2020 season was his best of the year. He qualified for fourth, splitting the Red Bulls. In the race, he managed to convert his best qualifying position so far into his debut podium after capitalizing on Hamilton’s 5-second time penalty to finish 3rd.

The Best Season Yet In 2021 and the First and Only Pole Position

For the 2021 season, Lando was partnered with multiple time race winner Daniel Ricciardo. Daniel Ricciardo was expected to be the team leader, but Lando Norris objected and stepped up. He showed incredible consistency to finish in the top five in half of the races that season, finishing on the podium four times in the process, and he also secured his maiden pole position.

A string of impressive weekends preceded the Monza Grand Prix weekend, where he and Daniel led McLaren Racing to their first one-two since 2010, but he was ordered not to fight his teammate for the win, which no doubt left a sour taste in his mouth as he was clearly the faster of them.

Lando finished 6th in the driver’s championship that season but couldn’t help his team clinch 3rd place from Ferrari in the team’s standings come the end of the season. He absolutely crushed his teammate throughout the season, both in terms of qualifying and also in races.

Not the Best Last Season for Norris and McLaren

McLaren persisted with the same driver lineup for 2022, and Lando had unofficially taken over as the lead driver. The car took a step in the wrong direction, and McLaren were playing catch-up since day one.

The team slipped to 5th in the standings, with Lando scoring the lion’s share of points. He wiped the floor with his teammate that season, winning the qualifying battle by a whopping 19-3 and being 85 points ahead of Daniel come the end of the season. The Emilia-Romagna weekend was a spark in a rather dull season. He qualified P3 but fell back to P5 after the sprint. He overcame the setbacks to put himself back on the podium and finish third, as he did in 2021.

Privileged Upbringing Didn’t Hurt Norris’ Focus

Norris was born on November 13, 1999, to Adam and Cisca Norris. He was the second-oldest of four siblings. His father is one of Bristol’s richest people.

He holds both British and Belgian citizenship, but races under the Union Jack. Norris had a privileged upbringing and tried his hand at horseback riding, quad biking, and motorcycle riding before taking up karting at the age of 7.

Keeping His Private Life Private

Lando has tried keeping his dating life private. He was dating Portuguese model Luisa Oliveira for a year before they split up. Norris has stated he and his now former girlfriend were subject to abuse and death threats from online trolls.

One of the Highest-Paid Drivers In Formula One

Lando Norris is one of the sport’s highest earners and is reported to have a net worth of around 25 million USD. At the moment, Norris has a reported salary of $20 million with McLaren, making him the fourth in the list of the highest paid F1 drivers.

He relocated to Monaco in 2021 and has clarified that it is mainly because of lower taxes in the principality. He also owns his own e-sports team called “Quadrant”. He has amassed an impressive car collection, which includes a Rolls-Royce Wraith.

• Full name: Lando Norris
• DOB: 13th November 1999
• Age: 23
• Place of Birth: Bristol, England
• Nationality: British, Belgian
• Team: McLaren Racing F1 Team
• Race number: #04

From Carting to Formula 2 – Norris’ Impressive Junior Career

Norris began his racing career in karting at the age of seven and, similar to most drivers on the F1 grid, amassed plenty of accolades in the category. He made the jump to single-seater racing in 2015, and fast-forward a year, he won both the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, the Eurocup Formula Renault, and the Toyota Racing Series.

The obvious step was F3, and he finished 3rd overall in his first season but went on to win it in his second attempt, absolutely destroying his competition on his way to the top. He battled a certain George Russell and Alex Albon all in the 2018 Formula 2 season but ultimately could only finish second to George but was ahead of Alex, who bagged the third spot in the championship.

Can Lando Norris Surprise the F1 World In 2023?

Lando is partnering Oscar Piastri for 2023 after McLaren Racing were able to swoop the highly rated Aussie away from Alpine. Lando will be expected to lead the team and also help Oscar integrate with the team, but so far the car has been really poor, which is why the odds on Norris winning the F1 title are massive, at 500/1 (501.00) and higher.

McLaren are tipped to improve their form halfway through the season as they spend more on upgrades throughout the year, but so will the other teams. Meanwhile, Lando is hot property, and the F1 rumor mill is always spinning up something or the other. Lando needs to keep his head down, make the most of the car he’s given and help his team beat direct competitors Alpine to finish at least 5th in the team’s championship. Lando does have the talent to drag this car to the podium if the stars align in his favor.

Disappointing start to the season

The McLaren starlet expected a rough weekend, and in his defence, the car was atrocious. Lando Norris scrapped through Q2 by the skin of his teeth. Logan Sargant in the Williams set an identical lap time, but as Lando set his lap first, he was able to escape the Q1 drop zone. He dragged the car to a P11 start.

The Sunday to come was worse. Lando’s race was plagued with mechanical issues, and as a result, he was forced to make six pitstops as he finished plumb last.

The awful start to the season continues

Lando had hoped to improve this weekend, but unfortunately, he crashed into the wall and broke his front left suspension. He would start the race from the back of the grid, while his rookie teammate would start P9.

The race wasn’t any better; Lando was completely lost; nothing worked out for his fortune, and he was unable to ever make any significant charges up the field. He was saved from finishing plumb last for the second race in a row thanks to Valterri Bottas having an even more awful Sunday.

Relief in Melbourne

Lando Norris’ shaky qualifying sessions continued for the third weekend in a row, as he tried to get into the gravel trap but was able to make it out. He qualified for P13. The race was a relief for Lando; he was able to make his way up the field gradually and was able to be on the right side of the pitstop shuffle. He earned his first points of the season with a P6 finish.

Strong Qualifying in Baku

The Baku Grand Prix was just what Lando needed. He qualified P7 for the race but qualified P10 after he ran out of soft tyres for the session. Lando had to pit on lap 10 of the sprint race and ended up finishing the sprint race in 17th . Lando was able to finish P9 in the race on Sunday after the faster cars behind him overtook the subpar McLaren.

Miami Woes 

The qualifying woes were back again in Miami as Lando was unable to make it to Q2, and his race was further hampered when Nyck de Vries rammed into the back of Lando’s McLaren, and both of them dropped to the back of the grid. He finished the race one place behind his qualifying position of P17.

 

 

 

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