Lewis Hamilton believes there is a chance for Lando Norris to catch Max Verstappen (Image: Getty)
Lando Norris is hunting down Max Verstappen in the 2024 Drivers’ Championship.
Lewis Hamilton believes it is ‘not impossible’ for Lando Norris to reel in Max Verstappen at the top of the Drivers’ Championship before the end of the season. Norris trails by 76 points but the McLaren star has built up a head of steam going into the Belgian Grand Prix.
After two dominant seasons, Verstappen has finally been caught up by his rivals after McLaren and Mercedes closed the gap to Red Bull. The triple world champion limped home fifth in Hungary last time out following an argument with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and a collision with Hamilton.
Norris, meanwhile, has racked up four podiums in his last five races, adding to the joy of clinching his first Grand Prix win in Miami earlier this year.
Sitting second in the Drivers’ Championship and steadily closing in on Verstappen, Norris has been given a slim chance of overhauling him by Hamilton. “There was a time I was here (in Belgium) when I was 40 or something points behind,” recalled the Mercedes star.
“But 70 is a big number when you’re against a car that has probably very, very close to a 100 per cent record. They may have dropped down slightly in one of the races when Max’s engine stopped – Australia. But otherwise they’re a very highly-performing team.
“It is not impossible but it is a very high, huge challenge and task. But absolutely not impossible. (McLaren) have got two very strong drivers that are able to compete against ultimately, currently in the championship, one car that’s really up there doing the point-scoring. So they’ve got something they can work with there, for sure.”
Norris could have made it two career Grand Prix wins in Hungary last weekend, but for team orders requiring him to cede first place to his McLaren team-mate, Oscar Piastri. Norris initially resisted the commands before giving in three laps from the finish line.
Hamilton took a swipe at Verstappen when discussing the incident and insisted that Norris eventually did the right thing by swapping positions, despite ignoring the radio messages for 17 laps.
“If that was Max he wouldn’t have let him past,” said the seven-time world champion. “But it’s not really for me to decide.
“If I was in that situation I would do what my team asked me to do, as hard as it is, ultimately because it’s not about you. It’s about 2,000 people that you’re representing and working with and the message it sends. So ultimately I think he made the right decision.”
