A former Formula One driver has questioned Lando Norris’ World Championship credentials after just two races.
Giedo van der Garde does not believe Norris has what it takes, even after a spectacular victory in the Australian Grand Prix.
He defeated Max Verstappen, his main title opponent, in Australia, raising the possibility that he will try to win the World Championship this year.
Unfortunately, he only managed a disappointing one point after making a mistake on the first lap of the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint in Shanghai, going off course and losing important places.
In the feature race, however, Norris first sprinted ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell on the first lap before slipping through as Russell tried to pass Oscar Piastri for the lead.
He did, however, momentarily fall behind Russell after pit stops.
They returned to the circuit side by side when Russell, the first of the two to stop, completed an undercut that eliminated Norris’ on-track advantage.
Van der Garde voiced concerns even though he had taken back the lead from Russell and finished in solid second place behind Piastri.
Van der Garde told Viaplay that Russell had entered a little earlier.
Russell’s quick exterior pass of Norris was a pleasant moment. That struck me as a fantastic action. By the way, Norris was actually sleeping there.
You must spread yourself wide and push him away because you know it will be a fight. Nothing took place.
“That first action should never have occurred, but Norris recovered nicely once his tires were warmed up. Norris was past on the outside by Russell. Russell did well in the race.
“That’s how you never become World Champion.”
He added: “If you keep driving like this and let things like this happen, you won’t take that title. You have to use every millimetre in a fight. Norris is still a bit anxious.”
According to the Dutchman, this wasn’t the first signal this season indicating that Norris might not yet be ready to contend for the World title.
Although he triumphed at the Australian Grand Prix, he made a significant blunder at Turn 6 on the penultimate lap, running wide and allowing Verstappen to close in.
“We can also remember that Norris got all nervous in the last laps [in Australia] because he had Max behind him,” Van der Garde said.
“Come on, man! You know you have a good car and that you are good. Just go for it and make sure you’re there.”
Christian Horner, the team principal for Red Bull, noticed this as well and commented, “I think Lando looked like he tightened a little bit at the end of the race.”
“On a track that is very hard to pass, he made a mistake at Turn 6 and went half off the track, which gave Max a little run. Then, he got another run the next lap.”
Since making his Formula One debut with McLaren in 2019, Norris has continuously dazzled with his speed.
Norris has established himself as a vital member of McLaren because to his impressive qualifying results and steady point finishes.
