"Don't need any more confidence": McLaren's Lando Norris confident of claiming maiden F1 victory
Apr 23, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 23 : McLaren driver Lando Norris is confident that he can claim his maiden Formula 1 victory in the 2024 season after McLaren's performance at the Chinese Grand Prix delivered "more evidence" that his team can fight against Red Bull.
The 24-year-old driver finished second to Red Bull's Max Verstappen in Shanghai, exceeding his low expectations for McLaren's long-run pace heading into the race.
Verstappen, who leads the world championship and pursues a fourth consecutive drivers' crown, has won 21 of F1's last 23 races, making it impossible for the rest of the grid to win.
Norris has failed to win an F1 Sprint race, a failure underlined by his then-rookie teammate Oscar Piastri's victory in the abbreviated version last year in Qatar.
"I have already said it, I don't need any more confidence. There's more evidence [from China]. I said it at the beginning of the year that I think we can fight against Red Bull and we'll be able to get a win this year. It's not going to come easy. I don't think it will come for a while, but right day, right time, good conditions, things that suit our car a little bit more - 100 per cent I have the faith in the team and I have faith in my ability to be able to pull it off," Norris told Sky Sports F1.
"But it does need to be right place, right time. I don't think on average we're close enough for the time being. But I want to believe," he added.
Norris' 15th podium result in China extended his record as the F1 driver with the most top-three finishes without a win, surpassing Nick Heidfeld's 13 in Australia last month.
The 24-year-old has frequently failed to conceal his disappointment when opportunities have been squandered, but he claimed he is working to modify his mental approach.
"It's not often I have faith in something, whether it's myself or my abilities or whatever like that sometimes. But I'm trying to change, trying to do better and one of those things is having more confidence in what I can and what we can achieve, and one of them is by saying, 'I think we can win a race this year'," Norris added.
