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Why Norris is not desperate to win Dutch Grand Prix

Why Norris claims he is not desperate to win despite slim title chance

25 August at 07:25
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Losing points to Max Verstappen at the Dutch Grand Prix would surely represent a big blow to the Brit's already slim chances of winning the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship? A gap of more than 78 points with nine Grand Prix weekends remaining would seem like a mountain to climb. Despite approaching that point, Norris claims he is not desperate for a win in Zandvoort and explains why that is the case.

For a brief time, it looked like Verstappen had pulled a result out of the bag and clinched pole position. But Norris smashed Verstappen's time and beat the Dutchman by more than three-tenths. After a summer break of reflection, it was a lap to give the McLaren driver the confidence to end Verstappen's run of wins at Zandvoort and thus start to eat into his World Championship lead.

A lead that Norris must start to close if he is to capitalise on the slim chance available to him. But Norris would not use the word desperate to describe his situation, and he explained why. 

"I’m not desperate. I want to win but I'm not desperate. I'm working hard to win, we all are as a team. Although I say I want to win, I’m not desperate because desperation doesn't succeed to anything so it makes no difference. I worked hard over the summer. Little bits are paying off already but tomorrow is the biggest place for it all to show," Norris said.

How does Norris foresee the Dutch Grand Prix?

Despite having a three-tenth advantage in qualifying, Norris knows victory won't be simple. "There are always some unknowns. I think we're in a pretty reasonable place. Our long run pace was pretty strong [on Friday], but Max, Oscar, especially George in the position he is in will be quick and tomorrow is going to be challenging," Norris added.

"So I'm not expecting anything easy for sure. [Sunday] is going to look the most calm from a weather and a wind point of view, which is always a nicer thing to look forward to. But I think we're in a good way. So, hopefully, we can continue what we had today into tomorrow."

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