John Watson admits ‘I don’t know’ how 24-year-old F1 driver was so quick last season

Follow us on Google Discover

John Watson admits the five-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner could not understand how McLaren driver Lando Norris was so quick at the end of the 2023 Mexico City GP.

The 24-year-old stunned Watson as he cut through the field to secure fifth from 17th on the grid. An ill-timed yellow flag saw Norris post the slowest time in Q1. But he shuffled up from P19 after Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant’s penalties. Lance Stroll also started in the pits.

But it was still not until the mid-race mark that Norris made his mark on the Mexico City GP. He excelled following the red flag period triggered after Kevin Magnussen crashed heavily in the Haas. Norris was P10 at the stoppage after making a pit stop under the initial safety car.

Lando Norris made up nine places in 36 laps at the Mexico City GP

Norris even fell back down to P14 at the restart and did not regain a points-scoring position until Lap 47 of 71 by passing Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg. While teammate Oscar Piastri touching the AlphaTauri of Tsunoda allowed the Briton to shuffle into P8 on the 50th lap of the race.

Ultimately, McLaren instructed Piastri to let Norris through into P7 on L56. While the Bristol-born talent passed his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo with a move around the outside of the AlphaTauri at T4 for P6 on L60. A further seven laps passed before Norris moved into P5.

McLaren told Norris over his radio that it would be ‘all or nothing’ to pass George Russell for P5 on L65. But the pushed and caught the Mercedes star the following lap, before snatching the spot on L67. Russell moved slightly off line, and Norris did not need a second invitation.

John Watson could not fathom the McLaren driver’s speed in Mexico City

While the Mexico City GP finished Norris’ run of four consecutive podiums – including three third-place finishes – Karun Chandhok called it the McLaren star’s ‘drive of the season’. The 24-year-old sealed a total of seven podiums in 2023 – including ending six as the runner-up.

Former McLaren driver Watson also relished what Norris produced at the 2023 Mexico City GP. Watson could not understand how his compatriot found so much speed during the final laps to continue passing the likes of Ricciardo and Russell whilst his rival drivers lacked pace.

“In the race, towards the last 15 or 20 laps, one driver seemingly had pace above anybody other than the two leaders and that was Lando Norris,” Watson told Motor Sport Magazine.

“I don’t know where he found that pace. I don’t know whether he looked after his tyres better. He was catching and overtaking people at random.

“I think Piastri is just fantastic. But here was Norris – who had a bad qualifying – coming through the field and suddenly 15 laps out, catching every lap and overtaking another car. You don’t see that terribly often and certainly, we didn’t see much of that in Mexico.”