Lando Norris’ old comments have been dug up by angry Lewis Hamilton fans after the McLaren star’s frustrating Italian Grand Prix. Norris crossed the line third and missed out on maximum points, which would have been a major boost on an afternoon when title rival Max Verstappen limped home in sixth.
With more podiums than any other outfit in 2024, McLaren are the form team in F1. Oscar Piastri’s P2 and Norris’ P3 at Monza leaves the team only eight points behind the floundering Red Bulls in the Constructors’ Championship.
It’s clear that Norris and his team-mate are driving the fastest car in the field, but a strategy mishap allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to nurse his tyres to victory on Sunday at McLaren’s expense.
And Hamilton fans have been quick to pounce on Norris’ disappointing third-place finish, the year after he suggested that the seven-time world champion has benefitted hugely from spending his career in dominant F1 cars.
“Lewis came into McLaren (in 2007) when they were winning championships and winning races from the beginning,” said Norris in 2023, when McLaren were still a long way from the front of the field. “That makes you look good. If he came to McLaren now he wouldn’t win a race, and he wouldn’t have been anywhere near the driver he is today or achieved what he has today.”
One Hamilton fan, @sirhqmilton, responded to those quotes on X by adding: “Not so easy to win in the fastest car now, is it?” Others also jumped on the bandwagon, as @ethan_graham28 wrote: “The sheer pace advantage that McLaren had and he finishes THIRD after starting pole behind a slower Ferrari and his team-mate.”
Elsewhere, @richie26188 posted: “I like Lando a lot but this is so true. With the car he’s got, he should be within striking distance of Max.”
Norris has eight remaining Grands Prix in which to close a 62-point gap to Verstappen, who was dominant at the start of the season before falling away in recent weeks. “I wouldn’t say we’re running out of time, but time is going away slowly,” said Norris after his P3 in Monza.
“I still believe that we can do it; you know, the pace is obviously great. When you’re fighting for a championship, you want every little thing and I’m doing everything I can. The best way simply is just to win the race and I didn’t do that today because of some silly things.”
