Norris is nowhere near Verstappen's level yet

"I look forward to it. I want to challenge him. I want to race against him. I want to battle because I think he's one of the best drivers ever in Formula One. So if I can prove myself again, I will. If I can prove myself against him, I'm proving myself against one of the best. And that's exactly what I want to do.'

These are the words of Lando Norris, who had an extensive interview with Sky Sports after his Grand Prix victory in Miami. It was, of course, about Max Verstappen. The three-time and reigning world champion and also a good friend of Norris. Good friends or not: at the end of the day, every driver wants to win for himself. So does Lando Norris, but is that realistic?

Can McLaren compete for the world title?

Starting with McLaren. The team has undergone a huge transformation under the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella. Everything has been done in Woking to keep up with the top teams. The factory is now up to the highest standards again, the wind tunnel was revamped and now in-house and talented personnel were snatched from the competition with Rob Marshall being the best example.

The new direction soon bore fruit. The 2023 Austrian Grand Prix showed that the team knows very well how to further develop the current car. During the season, this became more and more evident. Looking at where McLaren stands now, the new technical management has been able to make considerable strides.

One swallow does not make a summer, but the Miami GP is a good sign for McLaren. Probably not capable of winning everywhere at the moment, but like Ferrari, it can win if it all goes according to plan. If it does, then you're not very far away from a possible title fight either.

That remains impressive, because essentially McLaren is still a Mercedes customer. As a result, the alignment between the engine and chassis departments is never optimal. McLaren has to make do with the engine it gets from Mercedes. That is good, but never perfectly tuned to McLaren's needs in the way that Ferrari and Red Bull Racing can tune it with their engine partner. That also remains the biggest question mark hanging over McLaren. As a customer team, can they really compete for the world title? Brown and Stella believe it is possible.

How good is Max Verstappen?

And then perhaps the most important question: is Norris capable of beating Verstappen? Over a full season in 2021, Verstappen did not necessarily have the better car in the duel with Lewis Hamilton. Yet Verstappen won that battle. Why? Because over a full season, he did make many mistakes. His only mistake that year was in qualifying in Saudi Arabia, only to finish that race second. Lewis Hamilton did make a few errors. In Monaco, Azerbaijan and Austria, he certainly did not make the most of his package by his own admission. Therefore, despite the events in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen's title was fully deserved.

That mistake-free Verstappen has been at it since the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix. Since then, Verstappen has rarely been caught out on a mistake and has been making the most of his package every weekend. But very rarely has he been beaten by his teammate since that Canadian GP.

If you want to beat Verstappen over a full year, you will have to at least come close to the Dutchman. Hamilton was very close but lost out to Verstappen because of those few weaker weekends.

Is Norris already at Verstappen's level?

It is nice for Norris to have a win in his pocket. The Briton has also developed tremendously in recent years. Norris was always fast over one lap, but has improved tremendously, especially in racing. The McLaren driver is now good at managing his tyres and has also become better at attacking and defending. Norris rarely makes big mistakes in the race.

Still, you cannot argue that Norris has the consistency of Verstappen. Just looking at 2024, that is not the case. Indeed, in Miami, Norris was still beaten in sprint qualifying by his younger and less experienced teammate Oscar Piastri, while Norris had the full update package at his disposal, and Piastri only half. Those mistakes in qualifying, and driving the car over the limit, are things Norris does too often.

Even in 2023, he was too often angry with himself after qualifying where there could have been more in it. Consider, for example, the race weekend in Qatar. There, too, Norris threw away his qualifying, and his teammate ran away with a victory in the sprint race. Piastri also finished ahead of Norris in the Grand Prix that weekend.

Clearly, Norris has developed well and may be more confident after his victory in Miami. However, it is far too early to put him on a par with Verstappen. There are still too many dips in his performance for that to happen. Verstappen does not have those dips, and you simply won't beat him over a full season.