Lewis Hamilton believes Lando Norris can beat Max Verstappen to the world championship this year but admits the McLaren driver faces a steep challenge.
McLaren have been a close match for Red Bull on performance since the sixth round of the championship. However Norris has only won one race and infrequently taken points off Verstappen.
Norris goes into the 14th round of the season 76 points behind Verstappen with 310 available. Seven-times champion Hamilton has recovered from points deficits to win titles before, but expects Norris will find it very difficult to overturn Verstappen’s lead.
“There was a time I was here when I was 40 or something points behind,” he said at this weekend’s race. “But 70 is a big number when you’re against a car that has probably very, very close to a 100% 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.”
However Hamilton said the fact McLaren are consistently scoring points with both their drivers will help Norris in the championship fight.
“It is not impossible but it is a very high, huge challenge and task,” he said, “But absolutely not impossible.
“They’ve 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 led the closing stages of the last race in Hungary but allowed his team mate Oscar Piastri to pass him for the win when ordered to by McLaren. Hamilton said he understood why he did so despite giving away seven points in his pursuit of Verstappen.
“If that was Max he wouldn’t have let him past,” said Hamilton. “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.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
2024 Belgian Grand Prix
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…