AdminLando Norris says McLaren’s slow start to 2024 gave Max Verstappen a relatively easy season, but the Dutchman drove perfectly to win a fourth Drivers’ Championship.
Verstappen finished fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was enough to secure a fourth title in a row. Norris says Verstappen has taken every opportunity this year, whether the Red Bull is a race-winning machine or not.
“A big congratulations to him, he deserved it,” said Norris. ‘He hasn’t actually put a wrong step all year. So that’s the strength of him, he has no bad points, he has no disadvantages, he has no negative points.
“If he had the fastest car, he dominated races. If he’s not in the fastest car, he’s still been right behind us and still almost won the races. So he just doesn’t have a bad side. He hasn’t had any bad races all year. His worst was a fifth or something like that. He just drove the way Max has always driven and that is perfect. And I can’t blame him for anything.”
However, Norris believes Red Bull and Verstappen proved fallible once McLaren got up to speed, but complained in the first few laps when he didn’t have a car that could fight for wins.
“Some of that is experience, I think he still had a relatively easy season. I think if we had had a better car at the beginning of the year, we would have fought with him a lot more, and he would have been under a lot more pressure than ever before.
“So I think we put pressure on him. As soon as we did that, he made mistakes, and it showed. The team has made mistakes. He has made some mistakes, but over the course of the season they are very few compared to what he has done, and that is what makes him so good.
“He didn’t have a bad qualifying. He hasn’t had a bad race. I think his worst race was probably Budapest or something? And what did he still finish, fifth? So he just gets everything out of the car every time. And that is always impressive to see. Always something to learn.”
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