MIAMI GARDENS.– The British Lando Norris achieved his long-awaited first victory in Formula 1 on Sunday at the Miami Grand Prix, ending a long wait since he was considered one of the most talented drivers of the new generation.
In 2019, many observers predicted a great future for the Bristol driver when he became the fourth youngest in history to start a Formula 1 race, at 19 years and 124 days old.
Since that debut he climbed the podium 15 times, 8 times on the second step and seven on the third, until this Sunday, in the 110th Grand Prix of his career, he tasted victory for the first time at the Miami International Raceway (Florida). ).
Born in 1999 into a wealthy family, to a British father and a Belgian mother, Norris began racing karts at the age of seven and soon became European champion in 2013 and world champion the following year.
His rise continued in 2015 with victory in the British F4 championship, which attracted the attention of the British team McLaren, which included him in its young driver development program.
In 2018 he was promoted to test driver in Formula 1, finishing second in the F2 championship behind his compatriot George Russell.
In his first year in the highest category of motorsports, he finished eleventh in the championship, partnering with the Spanish Carlos Sainz Jr. His performance improved in 2020 (ninth place) and 2021 (sixth) before showing a certain stagnation in his driving that prevented him from continuing. improving those results.
Popular off the track
Norris, an excellent communicator with a wide presence on social networks, where he has eight million followers on Instagram, quickly won over many F1 fans both for his aggressive driving on the track and for his sense of humor on the radio or in front of the press. .
His popularity also grew following the enormous success of the Netflix series ‘Drive to survive’, although his attitudes sometimes bordered on arrogance.
Two years ago, for example, he had harsh words for his Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo when he announced his departure from McLaren.
“I don’t feel like I should have any compassion for any driver who hasn’t been able to do as good a job as I have,” Norris said. “I’m here to give my all, simply. And not to help anyone.”
Trust and fragility
Despite his apparent confidence, Norris is among the few Formula 1 drivers who have spoken openly about mental health challenges.
“Have you ever mentally struggled with something, but hid it from the world by putting on a brave face? I have,” he said in 2020.
“I struggled a lot in 2019 and 2020. I didn’t know how to deal with it. I kept it all inside and it really damaged my confidence, which had hit rock bottom. I doubted myself: Am I good enough to be in Formula 1? Can I recover from this?”, he confessed at the beginning of 2023.
Since last year, when he returned to sixth place in the World Championship, the Briton has had competition at McLaren from the Australian Oscar Piastri, another great promise in the competition.
“He’s putting more pressure on me than in the last two seasons, and that’s good. Every driver has something new to learn from, and you have to take that into account,” said Norris about another of the factors that helped him rise to the top spot on Sunday. last step of the podium.
