Lando Norris told be ‘selfish’ vs Daniel Ricciardo if he’s to rival Mercedes and Red Bull
Phillip Schofield teases Lando Norris about changing his tyres
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Lando Norris has been told what he needs to do if he is to challenge for the Formula 1 title in 2022. The young Briton was named alongside several other racers who, if they have a car capable of doing so, can challenge the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for the championship this year.
Thanks to a new set of technical regulations, the upcoming season might be one of the most unpredictable in the sport’s recent history.
Mercedes and Red Bull were on a level above everyone else on the grid, though that might not necessarily be the case this time around.
At the moment, no-one truly knows which teams have developed best over the winter period.
The current round of testing in Bahrain will give engineers and data analysts more of an idea, but it may be a case of waiting until several races into the season before the balance of power begins to truly reveal itself.
With car performance still relatively unknown, much of the talk about title contenders has focussed solely on driver skill.
With that in mind, the likes of Hamilton’s new team-mate George Russell and Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have been tipped to have strong seasons ahead.
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Norris is another who is much fancied as a dark horse, even if the young Briton is still chasing a first F1 race victory after cruelly missing out due to a sudden rain shower in Sochi last year.
Former F1 racer Johnny Herbert believes the likeable young racer has now grown up enough and realised that he needs to be a little more ruthless to achieve his goals in the sport.
“It was lovely to see McLaren winning a race in 2021, at Monza with Daniel Ricciardo, although not quite with Lando Norris in Russia,” he wrote in his column for Motorsport Magazine.
“Lando was mighty last season and grew up. His relationship with Daniel is not the pally one we saw with Carlos, and I think he realised he has to have that professionally selfish side to him – but in a lovely Lando way.”
Herbert went on to also muse about some of his rivals’ chances of a successful season.
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“The reset is a big opportunity for Ferrari,” he added. “But how many years have we spoken about the potential and passion in Maranello?
“The team was on it a couple of years ago, but that didn’t turn out to be entirely legit… and when whatever it had was taken away, my, was it miles off.
“If Ferrari does get it right, it has two bloody good drivers who will deliver.
“We already know Charles Leclerc has got it and can go wheel to wheel with Max, but Carlos Sainz Jr has also impressed me massively.”
Meanwhile, as for Russell, he believes the Briton’s biggest challenge in 2022 will be the consistency needed to outshine Hamilton.
“It’s a brilliant opportunity for George and I’m glad for him,” Herbert continued. “Now the work starts – but he is a grafter, especially on sim work, which is vital.
“The battle will be the mental game and this will be the toughest he’s ever faced.
“We saw that star quality when he got in the car in Bahrain in 2020, but Hamilton, like all the greats from the past, has that something extra special and he can do it 99% of the time too – so George has to manage it 99.1% to get under Lewis’ skin.
“There will always be favouritism in a team, it’s part of the game, so George has to do what he did in Bahrain every single time, because that’s what Lewis will do.
“Can he manage it? I think he can.”
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