Although Lando Norris lost the individual battle, his performance in the final round secured McLaren the constructors' championship. That is already in the bag, but he would also win the drivers' championship in 2025...
Norris admits defeat and that Max Verstappen was better than him in 2024, but he also sees a lesson behind the missed opportunity:
"Being second, slipping away from victory is always painful, but at the same time - it may sound strange - they are already happy that I am going into 2025 knowing that I am capable of fighting. I know myself, my virtues, my limitations, no one knows better than me what I need to improve in. There are places where I am strong, there are places where I am not so strong, I am open to criticism and I am open to improving in what is necessary.
Last year my qualifying performance wasn't great, but this year I was almost twice as good and I got a bunch of pole positions. This year I didn't have the extra to beat Max Verstappen, to fight him. But I definitely felt that he was human too, and if I improve my technique here and there, I can definitely say that I have the strength to beat him.
"I feel like I've come close to that this year in the last few races, where I've had strong results. Hopefully 2025 will be a year where I'm in contention for the world title from the very first race!" Norris said with determination.
