2. Norris shows his class
McLaren’s Lando Norris took a fine pole for the sprint, only to make a mess of the first corner – which naturally he self-deprecatingly beat himself up for. But the following day he made up for it with a brilliantly measured and intelligent drive to claim second place.
A strong first stint was the backbone to his ‘win’, then a pair of safety car interventions allowed him to switch from his planned two-stop strategy, with both he and Charles Leclerc jumping ahead of Pérez. The difference was, when racing resumed, Pérez wasted little time picking off Leclerc – but he could do nothing about Norris and was forced to settle for third. Norris is increasingly recognised as one of the F1 elite, but that coveted (real) first grand prix victory has so far remained out of reach, simply because he has come of age in the Verstappen era. It will likely happen, in a McLaren team that has made the best progress of any from its admittedly lowly base at the start of last season. But when might well require a dose of misfortune for Verstappen.
Norris is a class act who, even though he has yet to win a race, appears to have world championship-winning all-round ability. But is the same true of McLaren? Another admirable trait is Norris’s loyalty to a team that feels like home to him. But it remains to be seen if he is in the right place that will allow him to fulfill his plain and obvious potential.