Sir Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris are generally good friends. However, these two British racers have had some close fights since last year. On one hand, the seven-time champion has been looking for his first win since 2022. But on the other hand, the McLaren driver is just constantly coming up with improved performances. It is great news for English F1 fans as well as the McLaren team, of course. Moreover, the F1 fans, in general, have been wanting to see some sort of competition in the sport since the cost cap era started. But there has been no competition as Max Verstappen and Red Bull have enjoyed an unprecedented hegemony.
Lately, though, Lando Norris had a great weekend in Miami. He was able to beat Max Verstappen to win his maiden Grand Prix. Hence, it was a very special moment for the young British racer. Moreover, he must be looking forward to winning more races this season to take the fight to Red Bull and the triple-time champion. However, Norris had to wait a long time to win his first race. Moreover, the young Briton had been through many regrets in the sport before becoming a GP winner. One of those regrets has been Lewis Hamilton’s 100th Grand Prix win.
Lewis Hamilton’s 100th GP Win Made Lando Norris Feel Worse Than His Own Losses
Back in 2022, Lando Norris revealed why the 100th win of the Mercedes superstar was one of his biggest regrets during the High-Performance podcast interview. Norris mentioned that Hamilton’s 100th win made him feel worse. It is because he felt like he gifted the seven-time champion that win. Moreover, it was a worse feeling because he had not even won one race back then, and he just unintentionally helped “Lewis win his 100th.” On top of that, Lando Norris laments that on very few occasions fans get to see “An outsider win a race.” Adding to that, Norris said Mercedes and Red Bull always win.
But then there was one race in Budapest when Esteban Ocon won. Then again, Carlos Sainz Jr. won a couple of races since last year. Before Lando’s win in Miami, the Spaniard was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race since 2023. Lando Norris added that when some different drivers manage to win a race in Mercedes or Red Bull era, it starts to look cooler. Moreover, Lando noted, “After all, they are the drivers in my position.” The young British driver believes he should have won the race in Sochi when Hamilton won his 100th GP.
What Happened In Sochi?
Lando Norris was miles ahead back in the race in Sochi during the 2021 season. Indeed, he should have won the race quite easily. But then came a rain forecast from the pit wall. During the final laps of the race, it started pouring cats and dogs. The team advised him to pit for replacing the tires. However, Lando refused to pit for the intermediate tires. It turned out to be a costly decision.
He could not manage to keep the car on the track because of the slick tires. Eventually, he gifted the race to Lewis Hamilton, who went on to win his 100th Grand Prix. Since then, Norris has had to wait till the 2024 Miami Grand Prix to finally get his first GP win. But the young Briton still regrets, saying no to “Intermediate tires.” Now, he knows his team was right to ask him to pit.
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