David Coulthard has spoken glowingly of Lando Norris and his performance at the Singapore GP, claiming the “humble” McLaren driver doesn’t realise the “importance”.
McLaren are sensing a double F1 title opportunity in 2024 after usurping reigning champion Red Bull at the top of the Constructors’ Championship, while Norris keeps up the pressure on Red Bull’s Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen after cutting his lead to 52 points with six rounds remaining.
Lando Norris earns ‘Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton’ comparisons at Singapore GPAnd Norris delivered in dominant fashion at the Singapore Grand Prix, banishing his early-race demons and never looking back to win by 21 seconds from Verstappen.
Former Red Bull driver Coulthard was impressed, telling Channel 4 that apart from a couple of brushes with the barriers, Norris’ performance was “otherwise flawless”.
“What a performance, the harmony between man and machine is perfect,” Coulthard continued.
“He was like that from the first practice on Friday, he had the advantage over Oscar [Piastri], who did a really solid job to come back and get that podium.”
Coulthard believes Norris is delivering a performance that F1 legends Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton would proudly show off, but does that really suit the Briton after his third win of the 2024 F1 campaign in Singapore?
“But it’s almost like Lando, he doesn’t… He’s so humble and so accessible, he doesn’t realise how great and important his performances are at the moment, you know,” Coulthard continued.
“I want to put him in the kind of performances of Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton in their prime.
“We can all win a Grand Prix with a bit of luck, but this was exceptional.”
Coulthard would catch up with Norris after the race, telling him the performance was “Senna-like” and noting the gap to Verstappen is “just 52 points” with the title race “well underway”.
“Alone? That’s still a lot of points,” Norris replied, “especially when Max finishes second, like today, and doesn’t go down too quickly.
“But I feel like I’ve been performing really well the last few months, just different circumstances, different things, just haven’t led me to have results like I had today. But I feel like I’ve been performing at this level the last two, three, four weekends.
“I feel like I wish I could be closer in the championship at the moment, but it is what it is, and we’ve taken some things hard. We’re moving forward and when we have a weekend like we had this weekend, and a day like today, fastest all weekend and dominating the race, it makes you feel good and it’s good motivation for the team.
“I’m happy, but we have to keep working hard, because I’m sure Red Bull will catch up with me and I want my races to be nice and easy.”
The next US Grand Prix is at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, a race Verstappen has won for the past three seasons.
