A sign of things to come or a missed opportunity? Lando Norris’ 2024 season in retrospect

Drivers’ standings: 2nd

Points: 374

Best finish: 1st X4

Best qualifying: 1st 

Podiums: 13 (+ 4 Sprint podiums)

For a large portion of the 2024 season, Lando Norris looked to be the first driver mounting a bona fide title challenge to Max Verstappen since Lewis Hamilton in 2021. And for the most part, the McLaren driver chipped away at the points deficit as part of a consistent, mature campaign punctuated by truly standout dominant performances.  But there have been times when he has faltered too, succumbing to the Dutchman’s aggressive racecraft and wet weather prowess.

So, has Lando’s F1 season been a statement of intent for 2025, or has it highlighted shortcomings in his driver's toolkit that need addressing?

Another slow start for McLaren

Like 2023, McLaren was some way off front-running pace in the first four races of 2024. Although they weren’t backmarkers this time, Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri were fighting for positions on the fringes of the points in the opening two rounds, and Lando took just 12 points from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

A podium in Melbourne briefly showed signs of improvement, but a fifth-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix gave even more cause for concern. One podium and three meagre points scores, while Verstappen had romped to three victories, put Lando on the backfoot before the championship had even got underway in earnest.

Although he only managed sixth in the Shanghai Sprint Race, Lando’s performance in the Chinese Grand Prix caught the attention of many in the paddock, where he took an assured second. Were things heading in the right direction for McLaren?

A maiden win in Miami

Having been wiped out of the Sprint Race in a multi-car incident at Turn 1, Norris’ launch from fifth on the Grand Prix grid was a subdued one, making sure he lived to fight another day this time around. As a result, he dropped back to sixth but as others ahead pitted the Brit stayed out to move into the lead.

When a Safety Car was deployed on Lap 28, Lando got a ‘cheap’ pitstop and remerged at the head of the pack. A stroke of luck may have presented him with a chance at victory, but he still had to get the job done and fend off a fired-up Verstappen. The McLaren man did just that, and opened a gap of 7.6 seconds to the Dutchman to fully stamp his authority on the race.

Having taken the record for most podiums without a win earlier in the season, Lando now secured his first F1 victory on his 110th attempt, and he did it in fine style. Now the question was, could he carry this momentum and turn it into a full title tilt?

So close, yet so far

Over the next four races, Lando took home three second-place finishes, fully asserting himself as a consistent front runner. There was still something missing though, the pieces weren’t falling into place as he hoped.

A charging drive at Imola saw Lando chase Max all the way – with less than a second separating them at the flag – while he finished last of the McLaren-Ferrari quartet in Monaco.

Canada and Spain were much the same as Imola, with Max’s infamous wet weather pace making the difference in Montreal and an elbows-out race start in Barcelona eventually secured him another win.

More points lost

Tensions would boil over between Lando and Max in Austria, where the Dutchman’s robust defence ended in contact that took them both out of podium contention. The McLaren driver would fare worse with his race ending in retirement, and Max left the Red Bull Ring with a mental advantage; Lando now knew their friendship didn’t excuse him from Verstappen’s controversial wheel-to-wheel tactics.

The timing of McLaren’s pitstops would be Lando’s downfall at Silverstone; having initially looked threatening for victory, Norris switched from slicks to wets and back again later than Verstappen brining the Red Bull back into contention. With his Soft tyres fading at the end of the race, Max breezed past on the Hangar Straight, winning another head-to-head between the pair.

Taking pole and finishing second in the Hungarian Grand Prix was a welcome points haul for Lando, but team orders somewhat tainted an excellent 1-2 for McLaren. Spa-Francorchamps would be another tricky event for the Brit. Having started seven positions ahead of Verstappen, Norris struggled for pace throughout the 44-lap race and eventually finished one position behind his rival in fifth.

Dutch Grand Prix domination

For the third time in 2024, Lando was on pole at Zandvoort, but for the third time in six races, he failed to convert pole into the lead at Turn 1, with Max getting the jump off the start.

By the end of the first stint, Lando had closed in on the Red Bull, and sliced past Max to take the lead on Lap 18. From that point on, he didn’t look back, opening a gap of over 22 seconds to take the second win of his career in dominant fashion, and crucially in Verstappen’s backyard.

Damage limitation

Another unconverted pole followed at Monza, and another opportunity missed to make serious inroads into Verstappen’s points advantage. Still, Lando finished on the podium while Max languished outside the top five.

A shock Q1 exit in Azerbaijan looked to compound Lando’s woes, but a superb drive through the field saw the Brit rise from 16th on the grid to fourth (one spot ahead of Max) at the flag as well as taking the fastest lap of the race.

Sensational in Singapore

Like he did at Zandvoort, Lando won at a canter on the streets of Singapore to show once again he was capable of dominating, championship-bid drives. This time, he converted pole to the lead into Turn 1 and sprinted clear of Verstappen to take his third victory of the season.

On-track aggression in the Americas 

Both in Texas and Mexico City, Lando and Max would come to blows, ultimately affecting the points swing at each event.

In Austin, Max’s defence was a contentious topic once again, and this time the stewards deemed Norris to have overtaken Verstappen outside of track limits. The resulting penalty dropped the Brit to fourth one spot behind his rival.

The Mexican Grand Prix would fall in Lando’s favour after more off-track excursions for the title contenders. This time, Max’s aggressive moves when the pair went wheel-to-wheel earned him two 10-second penalties ultimately dropping him to sixth while Norris went on to take second.

It never rains but it pours

The weekend of the São Paulo Grand Prix was a pivotal moment in the 2024 season. If events had unfolded ever-so-slightly differently, it could’ve gone Lando’s way with the title battle closing considerably ahead of the final triple-header of the year. Instead, it was Max who capitalised to put one hand on the championship trophy.

Having been handed the Sprint win by Piastri, Lando qualified on pole for the Grand Prix and his pace looked ominous ahead of the 71-lap contest. It was fellow Brit George Russell who snatched the lead in tricky conditions at the start, but Lando kept the pressure on for the first half of the race. Red flags waved at the worst possible time for Lando, who had just pitted, and the opportune moment for Max who was yet to stop. Verstappen seized the lead when the race restarted and went onto win, while Norris finished a dejected sixth.

Norris finished an unremarkable sixth in Las Vegas and, after the disaster of Interlagos, that was enough to crown Verstappen as champion, finally bringing the Brit’s title bid to an end. A challenging race in Qatar followed, in which Lando ran a close second to Verstappen for much of the duration, but received a 10-second stop-go penalty for ignoring yellow flags. An excellent recovery drive meant he still finished 10th to bring home the final championship point.

Finishing on a high

Lando ended 2024 with a commanding lights-to-flag victory, his fourth of the season, securing McLaren the Constructors’ Championship for the first time in the 21st century.

Can he get the job done in 2025?

The 2024 season has undoubtedly highlighted Lando’s strengths as a driver. Eight pole positions, 12 podiums and four race wins have brought him closer to toppling Verstappen than anyone since 2021. His speed over a single lap and metronomic pace when out front make him a force to be reckoned with.

This season has also exposed areas for improvement though; most notably his starts, wet weather pace and racecraft that makes him look timid compared to the likes of Verstappen. Arguably, these shortfalls have cost Lando the chance to give Max a proper run for his money in this year’s title race. But if Norris can iron out some of those elements, there’s every possibility he could be a threat, if not the favourite for the 2025 championship.