Lando Norris’ dazzling start to the season
McLaren is firmly in third place in the constructors' championship after the first three Grand Prix of the season. It can thank in particular its young British driver Lando Norris, who has made an exceptional start to the season so far.
This year his teammate is new at McLaren, it’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian seems to be taking some time to adjust to his new team but had already shown that he needed a few races to adapt during his time at Renault two seasons ago. So, there is nothing alarming about seeing him slightly behind his teammate. However, Lando consistently finished ahead of Ricciardo in races during the first three Grand Prix races. In Bahrain, he finished 4th compared to Ricciardo’s 7th place. The Briton even secured a podium at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, finishing 3rd compared to his teammate’s 6th place. Last weekend in Portugal, it was again a 4th and 7th place for Norris and Ricciardo respectively.
At just 21 years old, it’s already Lando Norris’s third season in Formula 1. Since his debut in the top category, we can’t help but notice the constant progress made by the British driver. The numbers speak for themselves, when comparing Norris’s results after the first three Grand Prix of the year, across his three seasons in F1, we can see that he scored 8 points in 2019, 26 points in 2020, and finally 37 points in 2021. Continuously evolving, Lando Norris is gradually fulfilling the hopes placed in him.
A sustained pace, clean driving, impressive overtaking, and a good mindset could represent the toolkit of a great driver, and this is what Lando Norris is offering us at the beginning of the season. Unbeatable in the midfield during the first three races, it is only logical that the young British driver is the best of the rest in the overall standings, but he is doing even more than that. Currently, he is in third place overall, leading by 5 points a driver… from Mercedes! With 37 points, compared to Valtteri Bottas’ 32 points, Lando Norris has managed the feat of placing a McLaren ahead of a Mercedes after three Grand Prix races.
From now on, McLaren as well as Norris must continue their efforts in the path they have taken. The season includes no less than 19 races still scheduled, and as we saw in Portugal, the circuit seems to strongly influence the performance of the cars this season.
Comme chaque lundi suivant un week-end de Grand Prix, on se fait un petit récapitulatif du classement pilotes et du classement constructeurs de Formule 1, après ce Grand Prix du Portugal ! #F1 ???????? pic.twitter.com/TF5XjMbV5I
— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) May 3, 2021
