All the odds seem to be in favour of McLaren this year with several Formula 1 personalities naming the team as the favourite to dominate the upcoming season. Now former McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen has said current team driver Lando Norris has it in him to become the next world champion. He had given the reigning Red Bull champion Max Verstappen a tough fight last year and it seems he will eventually take the crown from him. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the two McLaren drivers to compete in the F1 2025 season beginning with the Australian Grand Prix.
Mika Hakkinen on Lando Norris’ performance
Hakkinen gave his own example and went on to compare himself with Norris, who has been following a similar path of learning from his past mistakes. On being asked if Norris can become the next F1 world champion, Hakkinen told Hindustan Times: “Absolutely, yes. Why? Because I experienced many years of racing without success, but it was part of my development to become a good racing driver. You have to maintain your criticism about yourself. That way you keep developing and pushing. That means you are taking risks.”
Commenting on Norris’ performance in Formula 1 so far, Hakkinen said, “Lando experienced all these elements in his career. He’s been taking risks. He’s been critical of himself. He’s been pushing flat out. When you’re not world champion, when you’re working towards that goal, it requires a lot of mistakes and stress. I believe Lando is ready. He is flat-out ready to achieve his goal.”
McLaren is going strong with its supercar MCL39 which turned out to be a better than Verstappen’s Red Bull. It is to be noted, Norris had accepted that he couldn’t take advantage of the same in the last season.
Also Read: “I think McLaren is the favourite”: Four-time world champion Max Verstappen does not think Red Bull can win Australian GP
After the three-day testing session in Bahrain last month, Lewis Hamilton had said, “McLaren did a great run.” Verstappen has also named McLaren as the strongest for the 2025 season. He said, “If you look at the lap times, I think McLaren is the favourite.” He added that he doesn’t think Red Bull may register a win in the Australian Grand Prix. Recently, former F1
star Guenther Steiner gave his vote to Piastri instead, saying, “he has the best car.”