Lando Norris: How he assesses his World Championship chances this year

Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris secured his first Grand Prix victory of the year in Hungary before the summer break. And with the premier class returning to Zandvoort, the McLaren star is also among the favourites – at least according to Christian Klien. The former Grand Prix driver and current ServusTV pundit bases this view on the simple fact that the track characteristics of the Hungaroring and the Zandvoort Circuit are very similar.

Norris himself remains cautious. In the Zandvoort paddock, when asked about his chances of victory, the 26-year-old said: “Yes, I’ve won, but that doesn’t mean I’ll win here as well. Of course, we want to believe that it will work out here again. But first we have to wait and see whether the upgrade we’ve brought with us works everywhere, or whether the progress we’ve made was specific to this track or these corners.”

No thoughts of successfully defending his World Championship title

Even when it comes to his World Championship chances, Norris keeps his feet on the ground. He knows that bigger gaps have been closed than the one he currently faces against World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli – he trails the Mercedes star by 91 points. Nevertheless, he waves the idea away when the subject comes up. “The chance is less than 1 in 100,” he explains dryly. “To be honest, I don’t think about it at all; it’s only when you ask these questions that the topic comes up for me. And I don’t want to change that either.”

The twelve-time Grand Prix winner was far happier to talk about the summer break, which he spent in Greece. “It was good; I was out and about with a group of friends, travelled around a lot and got up to all sorts. The break was lovely, but above all it was important for the team. After all, we drivers have more time than the team members; in that respect, we’re the lucky ones. We’ve had a bit of time to ourselves, which is great, and I was able to do something different for a change, which I really enjoyed. Because I also enjoy my life away from the racetrack.”

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