Lando Norris confident of beating Lewis Hamilton on the same team

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Lando Norris knows it would be a tough battle competing against Lewis Hamilton in the same car, but he’s confident he’d still beat the seven-time world champion. Norris has established himself as one of the most talented drivers on the F1 grid since joining McLaren in 2019.

He’s so far managed to claim six podiums and his best-ever result was a second-place finish at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Norris had been improving every year up until this season though with McLaren falling back after the regulation changes.

But he’s still been the ‘best of the rest’ outside of the top three teams, regularly finishing inside the top 10. The Brit sits behind Hamilton in the championship standings, although 79 points separate the two compatriots.

Hamilton too has had to cope with a car falling behind their usual standards this year and George Russell is currently on track to beat him in the standings. The 37-year-old has only been beaten by a team-mate in the final championship standings twice in his career.

But Norris feels he’d stand a good chance at joining that exclusive club if given the chance. Norris was answering questions from British GQ when he was asked whether he would beat Hamilton in the same car. He replied: “There’s a tough question. I’ve got to say yes.

“By no means would it be easy. Lewis is one of the greatest ever but if you want to do well, you’ve got to believe you’re better than the rest.”

There has been plenty of respect between the two British drivers over the years with Hamilton calling Norris “a great driver” during their battle at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix. And Hamilton also offered some support on social media in April last year when Norris saw his qualifying lap time deleted for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver wrote at the time: “Nobody can knock you for giving it your all. Amazing lap, it’s great to see you and the team shine. Move on, let’s race.” And, speaking to Express Sport last year, Norris admitted it meant a lot coming from someone like Hamilton.

“I think it was something that was nice to see,” Norris said. “I guess coming from someone that has been through exactly what you’re feeling, it definitely means more than anyone who has not been through it saying such a thing. I guess that’s the different thing, seeing it from a driver – rather than a fan or engineers, or mechanics, or the group around you.

“They’re always there for you, to try and be positive and help you get up, and help you get through the bad times. But also to see it from a driver, someone who’s actually gone through that in the past few years, or his 12-15 years of F1, that kind of means a little bit more because you know that they’re speaking the truth, and they’ve gone through probably things very similar to that.”

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