Lando Norris on F1 rival: you're 'silly' if you underrate him

Lando Norris, McLaren, Bahrain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Norris on F1 rival: You're 'silly' if you underrate him

The McLaren star had some strong words for those who overlook his rival and friend

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 27 March 2024 22:00

Lando Norris has defended a fellow F1 star, who has been labelled as ‘underrated’ in their career.

The British driver stepped on the podium for the first time this season in Australia finishing third.

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Despite the achievement, the McLaren driver has earnt the unfortunate record of the most podiums without a race win.

Norris celebrated his 14th podium alongside winner and former McLaren teammate Carlos Sainz, who overtook Max Verstappen on lap two to take the lead.

Norris was keen to praise his good friend Sainz after the Spaniard's second career victory.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will lose his race seat in 2025 to an incoming Lewis Hamilton, even though he is the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race since 2022.

When asked whether Sainz was underrated at the Australian GP post-race conference, Norris came to the defence of his former teammate.

He said: “There's no reason anyone should think he's underrated. I think for the people who know him, know what he's capable of doing, know his effort level, his approach and dedication to wanting to be one of the best, exactly like he's proved today, and over the last couple of weeks.

“I'm sure you have plenty of drivers who probably wouldn't have tried as hard and dedicated so much of their time and effort to trying to recover and get back in the race car. And I think that's just one example of it.

“But for the people who know what he's capable of doing, you would never ever say he's underrated. And yeah, of course, results are always a bit of a point to show and people on the outside just easily judge things from what you see on TV.

“But when you've worked with him, when you know what he's capable of doing, and when things click, they click very well and he has performances like he does this weekend.

“And I would say all year, he's proved to be a step up from maybe what he has been last year. Yeah, you're silly if you underrate him.”

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Max Verstappen McLaren Lando Norris F1 Carlos Sainz