Damon Hill believes Lando Norris unlocked the crucial ingredient needed to seize control of the 2026 championship fight – at exactly the moment Oscar Piastri started to falter.
With the Las Vegas Grand Prix looming and Norris now 24 points ahead of his McLaren teammate, the 1996 world champion says he recognises the unmistakable signs of a driver discovering how to win big.
“He’s found something, hasn’t he? And it’s been perfect timing,” Hill told The Mirror.
“It’s come at a time when Oscar suddenly looks a bit forlorn, a bit under pressure. They’re both learning about fighting for a world championship… It’s not the same as just driving.”
Norris’ charge began the moment his season hit rock bottom with a DNF at Zandvoort. Since then, he has bulldozed Piastri’s 34-point advantage and hasn’t finished behind the Australian since Belgium in July.
Dominant wins at recent rounds have left the 24-year-old on course to become McLaren’s first world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
Hill says what we’re watching is a driver transformed. Norris, he argues, has “learned about fighting for a world championship” and is finally being rewarded for the level he has shown in years past – whether it was the blistering first half of 2021 or his lone-wolf podium heroics in 2022.
The mental battle, Hill insists, is what separates contenders from champions.
“It becomes a discipline, really, a mental and psychological discipline which is quite demanding,” he added. “That’s what the goal is: To find out who’s got the right stuff and who hasn’t.
“Lando is world champion material; he’s already shown that this year. Yes, there was a time when he went missing, but he’s definitely back with a vengeance now, so it’s looking good for him.”
With three races to go, the title pendulum has swung decisively—and Hill believes Norris is now the one holding it steady.
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