Lando Norris Placed in the “Elite” League Despite Being Onboard McLaren’s Sinking Ship

Published 03/04/2023, 8:30 AM EST

Once regarded as the Heavyweight in Formula 1, McLaren lost their charm in recent days. Being one of the fearsome teams in the sport, the Papayas are now just a shadow of their own. If there’s one positive sector in the team among all these, it is none other than having a driver like Lando Norris. Despite not winning a race yet, the Briton belongs to the elite league of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz feels two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen.

Talking about this, Hakkinen spoke to Unibet International and said, “Lando should be the clear number one driver at McLaren. For me, Lando is an elite level talent, on par with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.”

5th season with @McLarenF1 and i’m ready for it. new car, new challenges, new teammate and i’m looking forward to it all. welcome to the team @OscarPiastri, let’s make this year a good one pic.twitter.com/FZwn8tGQPM
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) February 13, 2023

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“A very quick young driver. He’s achieved a lot. Or rather he’s shown convincing results constantly. He’s super talented. No question about it. He’s on a very high-level speed-wise,” the two-time world champion further stated.

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The upcoming 2023 season will be Norris’s fifth season with McLaren after he debuted for the Papayas back in 2019. While he remained the primary figure in the team, he teamed up with Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo in the past and will gear up with Piastri in 2023.

Lando Norris preparing himself to lead the midfield

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The McLaren driver recently opened up on his target ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite being on the back foot. Being from a team that looked off the pace during qualification, Lando Norris knows when to pick up the fight and with whom. But it’s going to be hard, he feels.

Talking about this, Norris shared in a report published by Planet F1, “I think you still have Red Bull up front, then Aston and Ferrari and then kind of everyone else a little bit after that, so it’s tough. I think it’s going be very close, so I look forward to it.”

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With Oscar Piastri by his side, it’ll be interesting to see how Lando Norris takes McLaren to the front. After Daniel Ricciardo left the team, Norris is undoubtedly the number one driver, and this is high time he proves his worth on the team.

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Written by:

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 and NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. He has completed his Master's in Mass Communication and Journalism from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Sabyasachi is an ardent Red Bull and Max Verstappen fan and has been following the sport for over a decade now.

Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai

Lando Norris Placed in the “Elite” League Despite Being Onboard McLaren’s Sinking Ship

Lando Norris preparing himself to lead the midfield

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