McLaren is on the cusp of a monumental achievement this weekend in Hungary, with the team eyeing its 200th Formula 1 victory, and Lando Norris is determined to be the one to deliver the landmark moment.
Since Bruce McLaren claimed the team’s maiden victory at Spa-Francorchamps on June 9, 1968, a legendary cast of drivers has added to that tally, with world champions Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Mika Häkkinen, and Lewis Hamilton among them.
With 199 wins already banked, the Woking-based squad now finds itself on the brink of a major milestone – and Norris is eager to begin the next chapter.
“I would like to be, yeah,” Norris said, when asked if he hopes to be the driver to clinch number 200. “Of course, you always want to be whatever number you can be, but 200 is a big achievement for the team.”
Norris, who has been with McLaren since his F1 debut in 2019, made it clear just how much it would mean to be the one to take the team across the line.
“When you look at the history of who has been in McLaren, the drivers, the championships that have been won, all of these things, then it’s always been an honour for me to be a part of McLaren,” he said.
“I’m lucky to have been part of McLaren since I joined Formula 1. It’s special. I think it’s something I’ll look back on in many years and be very proud of. It’s an amazing team.
“We’ve improved a lot over the years, and it’s nice that we can start these cool stats again and we can make some history, and add to what McLaren was once achieving many years ago.”
“It’s special, but of course, the number 200 is even more special, and that’s something I would like to be.”
The Briton, who currently has eight F1 wins to his name – level with teammate Oscar Piastri – trails the Australian by 16 points heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix. But with McLaren’s form on the rise, both are well-positioned to deliver that historic win.
As the intra-team battle heats up, Norris pointed to the small margins that have defined his and Piastri’s season so far – especially in qualifying.
“It's just who qualifies first and second more often. And you kind of just hold on in Turn One and then go from there,” he explained.
“There's not been many races where positions have swapped through a race. So therefore it's more who can make the least mistakes when they qualify first.”
Norris admitted that earlier in the season he may have been pushing too close to the edge – and that a subtle mindset shift has helped him stay in contention.
“Sometimes this year, even 95% would have been fine,” he said.
“These are some of my mistakes from earlier on in the season. I mean, I tried before at 101%. Sometimes that's amazing. Sometimes that's, I think, as good as you can get.
“I do believe that. But also at times I should drive at 95% or even 90% and that's not enough to be on pole or P2 sometimes.
“So yeah, I regret trying to... I mean, I do regret trying to be so good at the beginning part of the season. And I think now already I sometimes settle for a 95% lap and that's still good enough.”
With McLaren’s momentum building and history waiting to be made, Norris has every reason to believe that this could be the weekend he delivers a win that will go down in the team’s storied legacy.
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