After mathematically losing his chance to claim his first Formula 1 title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lando Norris acknowledged Max Verstappen’s exceptional driving in 2024, stating the Dutchman had outperformed everyone throughout the season.
McLaren entered the weekend with high hopes, having been the fastest team in recent months, but it was a tough race for Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri. Despite initially looking competitive in qualifying, both drivers failed to improve their lap times in the later stages, which left Norris in sixth position for the race, behind Verstappen.
In a pivotal race for Norris’ title hopes, the British driver needed to outscore Verstappen by at least three points to keep his championship ambitions alive. However, Norris struggled with race pace and finished in sixth place, while Verstappen secured fifth, maintaining the gap and sealing the title for the Red Bull driver.
Piastri also endured a challenging weekend, starting from eighth but receiving a five-second penalty for a grid infringement. He was able to make up a few places after his second pit stop but ultimately finished seventh, which was still a disappointing result for the Australian.
In the aftermath, Norris offered high praise for Verstappen, acknowledging his dominance throughout the season. “Firstly, big congratulations to Max on winning the Drivers’ Championship, he deserved it. He drove better than everyone over the course of the year and rarely made a mistake. So congrats to him for delivering once again,” said Norris.
Reflecting on his own performance, Norris admitted that McLaren’s MCL38 car lacked the necessary pace for the Las Vegas circuit. He also revealed that the team would be analyzing the issues to improve for future races.
“It was a reasonable race, but we didn’t have any pace in the car, and the conditions were challenging. It’s just not been our weekend. We struggled a lot, so we have a lot of things to improve on the car for the future,” he explained. “We’ll now turn our attention to next weekend and aim to come back stronger in Qatar, a circuit that should suit our car better than Vegas. Our focus is on these last two races.”
With the 2024 title race decided, Norris and McLaren will look to end the season on a high as they prepare for the final two Grands Prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
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