LN4 left wanting more in 2024
The 2024 season for Lando Norris can be summed up in two words: missed opportunity.
2024 was a season many thought a foregone conclusion following the result of the Chinese Grand Prix in April. Following on from their utter domination throughout 2023, Max Verstappen claimed victories in all races he had finished till then, giving him a points lead of 52 points over his would–be closest rival, Lando Norris.
However, after a dramatic turnaround – perhaps incited by some behind–the–scenes conversations between Red Bull and the FIA alongside strong McLaren upgrades – the Red Bull of Max Verstappen looked not only beatable, but in many cases not even the fastest car. Lando took the win in Miami and followed up with a strong second–place in Imola, where the McLaren looked to be the faster package. With 16 races left to go, and a points deficit of 60, Lando needed to outscore Max Verstappen by 3.75 points per race to go into Abu Dhabi equal on points.
For many looking back, it was championship on! However, 15 races later, Max has an 80-point lead going into the final race – so what happened?
Many argue that Lando missed key opportunities, notably in Canada and Great Britain with poor strategy; Spain, Italy, and Hungary where he lost off the line; and in Brazil, Qatar, and Austria, where he could have secured significantly more points than he ended up managing.
If we reshuffle the points to account for this, making changes to the results of the Canadian, British, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Austrian, Brazilian, and Qatari Grands Prix, we can see that if Lando executed at each of these opportunities, at this point in the season, he could lead Max 426 points to 412, making him the clear favourite going into Abu Dhabi! This highlights just how beatable Max was for Lando this year if he had simply executed.
Time will tell if this will be to Lando what 2007 was to Lewis Hamilton, but one thing is for sure: LN4 will go into the winter break feeling as though a potential title slipped through his fingers.
