Standing outside the McLaren motorhome in the paddock for the Qatar Grand Prix as a warm desert breeze stirs the air, Lando Norris cuts a figure entirely at ease even in the centre of the maelstrom of an increasingly tense fight to claim his first Formula One world championship.
While dozens of photographers jostle for space, the mic boom of the Netflix Drive to Survive series swaying over them, Norris has an air of assuredness as he speaks to the clacking of shutters that have increasingly become the backing track to the 26-year-old’s march towards the title.
He is fiercely self-critical, but the British driver exudes only a steely determination allied to an almost disconcerting, quiet confidence, even after the disappointment of being disqualified from second place at the last round in Las Vegas.
“People can believe whatever they want but deep down I know I’ve just been doing a very good job,” he said. “I’ve been doing a better job than everyone else. I’m very happy with that. I just need to continue to do it.”
That job has been a season-long challenge in which he has led the championship, lost the advantage and retaken it to reach this point in Qatar where he could seal the deal. He leads both his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 24 points, with 58 still on the table from the final two meetings in Doha this weekend and in Abu Dhabi next week, including a sprint race here on Saturday.
As things stand he holds the cards to win his first title and become the 11th British driver to claim the F1 world championship. Outscoring both of his rivals by two points regardless of where he finishes or by one point if he wins the race on Sunday, will be enough.
He is resolved to do so with a win if possible, rather than any bet-hedging and his belief that he will indeed take the title is underscored by the streak of form he has found in the final third of the season. Since being 34 points behind Piastri after failing to finish due to an oil leak at the Dutch GP, he has returned two wins and three podiums.
The early-season struggles with the car, which did not give him the feel for the front grip on which he thrives, have been banished and he has been relentless in exploiting his chance ever since.
This has been a process that Norris has pursued with his zeal for self-improvement. McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, has described this resolve and Norris’s commitment to it all season as being a quality that demonstrated why he was convinced the Briton was always in contention, and it has indeed been instrumental.
“I’m getting a lot out of the car and performing consistently,” Norris said. “I feel like my confidence is very high. Because I was struggling a lot with the car and several things at the beginning of the season, it’s put me into a much better position now, much later in the season.
“I feel like this year I’ve still learned a lot in terms of how to deal with all of those things as a driver. I’m happy I had all the struggles and almost got them out of the way and been able to improve.”
Of course, Norris is not alone in believing he will win the championship. Piastri too, who led for so long, is still in the running, albeit after a slump in form just as Norris has come up to speed. It is very much still a three-way title fight and the Australian has good form at the Lusail circuit, with two previous podiums and victory in the sprint race in the past two seasons. A win on Sunday might yet reinvigorate him and switch the pressure back on to Norris.
The Australian has insisted he will fight on until out of contention and has, rightly, no intent of sacrificing himself to Norris’s advantage, while McLaren will let their drivers continue to race, as they have all season. A decision which, of course, was welcomed with open arms by Verstappen in Qatar.
For it is surely Verstappen who is altogether the more threatening variable. He had looked out of contention by the mid-season point in the Netherlands but has hurtled back into the running with an upgraded car which has proved very much to his liking, a string of wins and that disqualification for the two McLarens in Vegas. The defending world champion cannot be written off and will probably be quick in Qatar, the fast corners playing to the Red Bull’s strengths.
Moreover, he has nothing to lose and he knows it and was happy to throw a few mind games in Norris’s direction. “The pressure of getting it over the line is in the back of his mind,” he said. “When you have won four world championships already, it is amazing and I shouldn’t be in the fight really but I am here.”
Ever the provocateur, Verstappen maintained that had he been in the McLaren the title would already have been wrapped up. “We wouldn’t be talking about a championship,” he said. “It would already have been won, easily.”
Verstappen was 104 points off Piastri after the Dutch GP. That he has made them back to come into the running is remarkable and gives these championship-deciding races a real edge. He simply cannot be ruled out and while he acknowledged that he would need a chunk of good fortune to bridge the gap to Norris, there always remains the chance that ill fate or poor judgment may strike the British driver.
“The most important is that you have a fast car,” he said. “So we have to make sure that we are faster than them, or at least equal-ish. Then with that, we still need a bit of luck. I mean, even if they tense up and they finish P2 [second on the grid], P3, it’s still fine, you know. So from our side, everything needs to go really well and then we might need a little help.”
If he gets a shot, no one is in any doubt Verstappen will pounce and force this fascinating contest down to the wire. While for Norris, calm and at ease as he holds his destiny in his own hands, there is only focus on finishing the job.
