When the 2024 Formula 1 season kicked off in full force, it looked set to be another year of Max Verstappen dominance. That is, until Lando Norris took his first win in Miami and changed the tides of the sport.

As we enter the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, it would admittedly take a miracle for Norris to overcome the points deficit to the championship leader. Despite that, he feels he has much to be proud of.

Lando Norris takes pride in his ability to challenge Verstappen

Max Verstappen has seemed invincible. From the moment he inked a deal with Toro Rosso to catapult his way into Formula 1, the Dutch driver has seemed destined for greatness — and since 2021, he’s proven he has the chops to fight to the World Drivers’ Championship.

And sine 2022, he’s seemed frankly unstoppable. Red Bull Racing looked to have mastered the new regulations, and Verstappen was able to eke out every drop of performance available to him.

Only one driver has been able to rise to the occasion to mount anything close to a challenge for the championship: Lando Norris.

The 2024 season kicked off with another display of Verstappen dominance that was only shattered in Miami when Norris took his first F1 victory. The two have traded on-track blows ever since, with Norris consistently whittling away at the deficit.

Heading into the Las Vegas Grand Prix, though, the writing was on the wall: Should Verstappen win, the championship would be settled with two races remaining in the 2024 season. Norris had fought hard, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Still, the Briton feels he has much to be proud of.

Dig into the championship fight at the Las Vegas GP:

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When asked by PlanetF1.com if he’s proud of how he’s fought his championship, Norris responded, “Of course.

“I mean, I’m the one there fighting Max. So I’m proud that it’s me and not anyone else.”

The story isn’t totally over just yet. Norris and Verstappen will line up alongside one another on the starting grid for Vegas — but not at the front of the grid. Rather, they’ll line up on the third row, with Verstappen fifth and Norris sixth.

Still, Norris seems to have accepted the fact that 2024 may not be his year.

“Do I wish we could have gone a bit further down the line?” he asked rhetorically. “Sure.

“But the race was lost in the first six races of the year. That’s when Max dominated. It’s when Red Bull were too far ahead and the points got to a gap which was too difficult to claw back.”

In China, just before Norris’ first win, Verstappen had 110 points to fifth-placed Norris’ 58. It took several more races for McLaren to truly find its footing in order to mount a challenge — but by that point, the battle was still definitively in Verstappen’s favor.

That’s nothing to shake a stick at, though.

“I’m proud,” Norris said. “I’m happy we brought it this far, and it’s us, no one else.”

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