Lando Norris established himself as Formula 1’s biggest stars during the 2024 season. The McLaren driver scored his first Grand Prix win in Miami and added three more before the year was out.
Norris, who finished a career-best second in the world championship behind Max Verstappen, also bagged eight pole positions. With 26 podiums, he’s now moved into the all-time top 50, ahead of Stirling Moss and only two behind his team’s founder Bruce McLaren.
During his junior days, it was clear that Norris was destined for F1. Between 2015 and 2017, he won five single-seater titles, most notably the European F3 championship.
That meant he bypassed the global F3 series and went straight to Formula 2. The Englishman wasn’t able to continue his championship streak, but he did finish runner-up behind compatriot George Russell.
By that point, Norris was already part of the McLaren driver academy. They offered him an F1 contract for the 2019 season, racing alongside Carlos Sainz.
Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have won every F1 title since 2017. But after helping McLaren win the constructors’ title last year, Norris could be the driver to break the duopoly.
The timelines didn’t align for Mercedes and Lando Norris
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Mercedes driver development advisor Gwen Lagrue revealed that Norris was on their radar in the junior categories. And the same was true of his teammate Oscar Piastri.
However, Mercedes didn’t feel ‘ready’ to sign them. Their priority was to nurture a small group of drivers, and they were wary that their resources could be stretched too thin if they signed too many to their academy.
Lagrue feels it’s better for F1 for talent to be spread across multiple teams. And she’s comfortable with missing out on Norris given the success of Russell.
Russell is himself a three-time Grand Prix winner who decisively beat Hamilton, the sport’s most successful driver, during the 2024 season. Next year, he’ll be partnered by another Mercedes academy graduate in Kimi Antonelli.
| CATEGORY | NOR | RUS |
| Race starts | 128 | 128 |
| Wins | 4 | 3 |
| Poles | 9 | 5 |
| Podiums | 26 | 15 |
| Points | 1,007 | 714 |
“Firstly, we can’t take them all, so it’s quite healthy to have others also picking a few kids,” Lagrue said.
“And secondly, I don’t feel like we have necessarily missed someone according to the strategy we had, because I prefer to focus on a small group of drivers and make sure we will bring them to the top. Or if they are not ending up in F1, make sure they will become professional.
“I’ve now been with Mercedes for nine years and we have brought through Esteban, George and now Kimi. And we can talk about Pascal Wehrlein or Alex Albon because they were with us as well.
“Of course, guys like Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri were there, but we were not ready anyway to give them something when they were available.”
Red Bull’s move for Lando Norris before 2024 F1 season
Norris is ‘ready’ to win the title in 2025, according to F1 pundit Tom Coronel. He arguably needed to go through some of the pain he faced last year.
It will be a valuable learning experience for the 25-year-old, who may adopt a more ruthless approach against Verstappen next year. His McLaren team will also be battle-hardened.
There’s a world in which Norris and Verstappen were teammates at Red Bull. It could have been the strongest line-up on the F1 grid.
Red Bull tried to sign Norris last winter as a replacement for Sergio Perez. But he emphatically placed his faith in McLaren instead by signing a new multi-year deal.
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