Lando Norris says McLaren should be more confident than ever heading into the 2024 F1 season

Lando Norris led a remarkable McLaren turnaround in 2023 as the team recovered from a terrible start to the season to finish fourth in the constructors’ standings; the Brit says he is “100 per cent” confident of claiming first F1 victory in 2024

Lando Norris says McLaren have more reason than ever to be confident going into the 2024 Formula 1 season and is “100 per cent” confident of claiming a maiden race victory.

Norris led a remarkable McLaren turnaround in 2023 as the team recovered from a terrible start to the season to finish fourth in the constructors’ standings.

The Brit was world champion Max Verstappen’s most consistent challenger during the second half of the season, finishing his campaign with seven podiums and just a point short of overhauling Fernando Alonso for fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.

While Red Bull’s historically dominant season has left the chasing pack with a major challenge to close the gap, Norris thinks his team are well placed to take another step forward.

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Relive how McLaren went from the back of the pack towards the front of the grid during the 2023 Formula One season.

“I hate ever being confident or overconfident about things, I’m never that kind of guy,” he said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports F1 when asked if McLaren are set for a big year.

“But I think so, because of what we have. We have a lot more things in place, of course we’ve got a few new guys who are starting as well, coming from other teams.

“But now we’re in the strongest place we’ve been for probably the last 10 years, I feel like we’ve got more things to look forward to next year – we’ve finally got the wind tunnel properly going and so many things which are coming together more than ever.

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Sky F1’s Damon Hill believes Lando Norris has the potential to become a future world champion if he continues on his current trajectory.

“If there’s ever a time in my life, over the last five years, I want to be a bit more confident, it’s probably going into 2024.

“Because we just need to start the season off well. This year we started off terribly and we’ve still ended up being very, very strong. So if we can start the season a little bit strong, at least, then I think it can be a great year.”

‘We’re so close’ – Norris confident of claiming first win

Norris’ impressive driving further cemented his status as on the sport’s elite drivers, along with the unwanted tag of being the best driver on the grid without a race victory.

The 24-year-old cut a frustrated figure on several occasions as opportunities to break his duck slipped away, particularly after missing out on attainable pole positions in qualifying.

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Lando Norris pips Max Verstappen to Sprint shootout pole at the Sao Paulo GP.

Despite having now completed 104 grands prix at McLaren without a win, Norris remains confident of experiencing success with the British team.

Asked whether his first win will come with McLaren, Norris said: “100 per cent, yeah. Because it’s going to be next year, and I’m with McLaren next year.

“I feel like we’re so close.

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Go onboard with Lando Norris as the McLaren driver overtook Max Verstappen at the start of the British Grand Prix to take the lead of his home race.

“There are those times where if it just goes well, we can be there, but it’s just those last little things that we need from the car, stuff we’ve not been able to tackle this year. But I feel like we can tackle a little bit more over the winter and into 2024.

“Just like race pace and tyre preservation, little things which sometimes are overlooked from an outside perspective, but when you’re driving, you’re like, ‘damn, if I just had this little thing, I could push more consistently, and if I had this I could race better’.

“But we know that some of them coming for next year, so very excited.”

24 races in 2024! Watch every round of next season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix from February 29-March 2. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW