‘All to play for!’ – Why Norris can still retain his F1 title

Reigning world champion Lando Norris is capable of pulling off a stunning fightback to retain his Formula 1 drivers’ title, according to Sky Sports F1’s David Croft.

Norris claimed his and McLaren’s first victory of the season in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix to reduce his deficit to championship leader Kimi Antonelli to 91 points as the sport enters its summer break with 11 of 23 currently scheduled rounds complete.

The emphatic nature of Norris’ victory after McLaren brought a significant upgrade package to the Hungaroring has created hope that the Woking squad may have permanently joined the battle for victories, and that the Brit can surge back into title contention.

Speaking on the latest episode of Sky Sports’ The F1 Show podcast, Croft suggested that the crucial factor will be whether McLaren can continue to outperform Antonelli’s Mercedes team.

Croft said: “One of the big things coming out of the summer break, can McLaren carry this on? Are they going to put their eggs in a Lando Norris basket? And is it going to come up trumps once again?

The Constructors’ Championship, I think, is still very much up for grabs. The Drivers’ Championship, I don’t think Lando is that far behind that he can’t make up a deficit.

“And seriously, I haven’t even gone on holiday yet. I can’t wait to get back to business at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. I don’t want a three-week break; I want the racing thick and fast!”

Can McLaren maintain form?

One of McLaren’s weaknesses so far this season has been their inability to get full productivity out of the power unit supplied to them by Mercedes, which the Silver Arrows have better exploited.

The fact that Hungary is one of the least demanding circuits on the calendar from a power-unit perspective leaves some doubt as to whether McLaren can replicate the performance elsewhere.

However, Croft pointed out that the Hungaroring has similarities to Monaco, where Mercedes were still able to win in early June.

“We’re 11 races into the season now, and I think McLaren are understanding the power unit way better than they were at the start of the year,” Croft said.

“Is it a surprise they did so well in Hungary? Well, on past form, no, they were one-two for the last two years in Budapest.

“But it is a little surprise given how strong Mercedes were in Monaco. I mean, that might be driver-specific in that respect. It might just be that Kimi was exceptional that weekend. But I don’t think the Mercedes are necessarily weak at a track like Budapest.

“What delighted me in terms of stronger competition to the championship leaders, and we want to see this championship go right to the wire because that’s way more fun, was that McLaren’s upgrade worked.

“They’ve taken their time this year to play catch-up, but they are now catching up, I think. And I think the signs were there right from the start as Lando built up the pace into the weekend that this was a good upgrade, they had the pace, and they were ready to challenge Mercedes.”

Bernie: All to play for after summer break

There remains some doubt over whether all 12 of the remaining scheduled rounds will be able to go ahead due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins thinks there is time for Norris to turn things around regardless.

“I think this year is going to be about upgrades,” Collins said on The F1 Show podcast. “It’s going to be about who can get on top of these cars, who can get the best out of the cars, the best out of the engines.

“At the moment as the calendar sets, we’ve done 11 rounds; we’ve got 12 still to go. So there’s still lots and lots of points on the board.”

Max Verstappen trailed then championship leader Oscar Piastri by 104 points with nine rounds remaining last season, before fighting back to ultimately finish just two points behind title winner Norris in the final standings.

Collins added: “We’ve seen McLaren this weekend at least have a little bit of the upper hand. And maybe Mercedes have been a bit distracted with each other in some of the earlier races as well.

“So, I think that it’s still all to play for. I think you’ve pretty much got three cars, maybe Verstappen as well in that fight, that I think who knows as we go through later races who will be at the front week in, week out. And that’s really interesting to watch.”

The Formula 1 season resumes after the summer break with a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime