Lando Norris says he's now found missing piece he needs to topple Max Verstappen
Lando Norris says he's now found missing piece he needs to topple Max Verstappen
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Lando Norris declared he now has the self-confidence to know he has what it takes to dethrone Max Verstappen and beat the Dutchman to Formula 1 title glory. The 2024 season saw something of a coming-of-age for Norris. The Brit had threatened to win races before but it was only this year that he finally got over the line - taking four victories overall as he mounted his first serious title challenge.
It ultimately fell short as Verstappen had already built an advantage earlier in the season that proved to be insurmountable. But the key take-away for Norris is that he now knows in himself that he is good enough to go toe-to-tow with his Red Bull rival and to achieve his title goal.
The McLaren racer said: "I fancied [my chances] already this year, but it was just a little too late. I definitely have had things to improve on and to look back on and try [to] correct and to improve. Nevertheless, I think the thing I've learned and I've gained the most this year is confidence in myself.
“Sounds very simple, [but] I've just always been quite the opposite kind of guy, and I always find [that] I need to go out to prove it to myself before I want to start believing anything. This year, yeah I made some mistakes and I didn't give a good enough fight to Max, but it was a good effort.
"And the one thing I've learned from [it is that] I have what it takes. And that's not an over-confident saying, that's... I know I made my mistakes, I know what I'm capable of doing and I know if I can improve on these things it's definitely possible, so I'm excited. I'm really looking forward to next year.".
