‘We’re coming’… The Lando Norris radio message one year ago that predicted the future

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Lando Norris heads into the final six races of 2024 with a genuine chance at winning the drivers’ championship. It remains unlikely, but one DNF or poor result for Max Verstappen could make for a dramatic finale.

Coming into the year, Norris had stood on the podium 13 times but never won a race. He hadn’t finished higher than sixth in the world championship (2021 and 2023).

But in his sixth season, McLaren have finally furnished him with the tools to compete. He scored his first victory in Miami and then added two more in the Netherlands and Singapore.

With 11 top-three finishes to his name already this term, he’ll effectively double his career tally in a single season. And he’s also notched five pole positions, having only managed one in his first five years.

At the start of 2023, the McLaren car was woeful. Oscar Piastri suffered a Q1 exit at the Bahrain Grand Prix before a DNF on debut, while Norris slipped to 17th, two laps down.

They gradually improved before a transformative upgrade in Austria that allowed them to compete for ‘best of the rest’ behind Red Bull. That was perhaps the foundation for their recent success.

Red Bull should have listened to Lando Norris’ warning at 2023 Japanese Grand Prix

McLaren enjoyed one of their best weekends of 2023 in Japan, where Norris led home Piastri for a double podium finish. Verstappen was untouchable that day, as he was for much of his record-breaking 19-win season.

Norris finished just under 20 seconds behind Verstappen, but given the turnaround from Bahrain, there were jubilant scenes in the McLaren garage as both cars made it onto the rostrum. Speaking over the radio after the race, the British driver sent a prescient warning to Red Bull.

“That’s how we do it!” he said. “Congratulations guys. Incredible job all weekend. If I’m reading the TV right, Oscar P3. Well done.

• READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

“Incredible. Well done everyone. Insane! Double podium. Two of us up there. We’re coming. We’re coming for Red Bull. Let’s keep up the work.”

At the following race in Japan, Piastri followed up his first podium with his first ‘win’, beating Verstappen in the Sprint. Red Bull remained dominant in the early rounds of 2024 but McLaren’s Miami upgrade, comparable in size to their Austria package, wiped out the holders’ advantage.

Andrea Stella’s squad rapidly reeled them in before overtaking them in Azerbaijan, where Piastri took top spot. With a 41-point advantage, they look destined to become constructors’ champions for the first time in the 21st century.

The ‘extraordinary’ Lando Norris feat that astounded Helmut Marko

The manner of McLaren’s recent wins suggests they will be extremely difficult to beat in 2025. Norris’ combined winning margin at Zandvoort and Marina Bay was almost 44 seconds.

Helmut Marko says Norris’ pace was ‘extraordinary’ during his first stint in Singapore. After an instruction from the pit wall, he unleashed his car’s potential and Verstappen was powerless to respond.

Red Bull have internally revised their targets for the rest of the season. Accepting that it will be difficult to win more races – a remarkable admission given that they had rattled off seven from 10 before their current drought – they simply want to finish ahead of Piastri.

If Verstappen can do that, he’ll limit the extent of Norris’ gains. Indeed, the reigning champion was satisfied with P2 last time out after capitalising on a scruffy qualifying display from the Australian.