Damon Hill shares why Lando Norris could now become a multiple F1 champion like Michael Schumacher

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McLaren driver Lando Norris joined an exclusive group of people who have won Formula 1 world championships at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Lando Norris and McLaren made hard work of winning the 2025 title despite their pace advantage, finishing the season with only a two-point advantage over Max Verstappen.

Norris leapfrogged teammate Oscar Piastri in the final third of the season in the standings when the Australian driver looked like the favourite to win the title.

How many world championships will Lando Norris finish his Formula 1 career with?

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Now, the question on everybody’s lips is whether Norris can retain his crown, or if Piastri can take another step forward over the winter break if McLaren’s car is competitive enough during the upcoming ruleset changes to challenge for a title.

Norris proved himself wrong by going on to win the title, but Damon Hill thinks he’s got what it takes to follow in the footsteps of the great Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher’s old rival doesn’t think he’ll match his tally of seven championships, but sees the same level of determination in Norris that the Ferrari legend had as his career went on.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Damon Hill compares Lando Norris to Michael Schumacher when speaking about his F1 future

Hill was asked on the Stay on Track Podcast if Norris will kick onto another level in 2026 and said: “Right, so he’s done it.

“And there’s a lot of comfort that comes from that. He will be able to, to some degree, relax.

“I mean, it’s a question of how much avarice you have to win. I always thought when Michael won one, two, three, four, five championships, he’d had enough, but then he went on to win one or two more.

“So, some people, it propels them to go on to win multiple championships. I definitely think Lando’s got more than one in him. I think he’s probably got three or four.

Where do you think Lando Norris will rank among McLaren’s greatest drivers when he retires?

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“And the question is, will Oscar, because he’s in the same team with Oscar, and Oscar did not exactly underperform.

“There were moments when he dropped out last year. He will go through the winter and think, OK, what do I have to do to patch up those little holes in my performance?

“And he will find out how to stop that happening again. So there’ll be a strong pairing, but there will be more determination within the team from Oscar to stop Lando beating him again.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Michael Schumacher, from F1 career to net worth

Damon Hill explains why McLaren might have more ‘faith’ in Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri

One of the biggest issues McLaren face going into 2026 is the relationship between their two drivers and whether it can stay as cordial as it did last year.

McLaren’s papaya rules came under intense scrutiny, and Piastri’s camp wasn’t happy with some decisions made towards the end of the campaign.

Hill was reflecting on how McLaren might approach next year and continued: “I think the team have got faith. They have faith in both their drivers.

“But definitely, what happens when you’re a world champion is you have a little bit more cache.

“So if I went from Williams to another team, they were going, oh my God, I got a world champion in the team. He must know something that is of value.

“So that gravitas you have, I think, is sometimes it’s misplaced. I didn’t know everything. I only knew what I knew.

“I didn’t know how to design the car. But the mindset, definitely, you know, so you’ve worked with people who like Patrick Head, and Adrian Newey and so forth, who knew where they were going and how to go about doing it. So leadership is a big part of that.”

Norris and Piastri both have a reputation for putting in the hours behind the scenes to improve the car and studying both their own data and their teammates.

However, if McLaren do start to listen to Norris more, then that could put Piastri on the back foot once again.

Andrea Stella knows he needs to listen to Piastri more; otherwise, the Australian might suddenly be one of the most sought-after drivers in the market going into 2027.