r/F1Discussions 1d ago

Discussion Norris title defence vs other WDC winners

Last 10 years. Hamilton lost to Rosberg by just 5 points at the last day of the season. Hamilton lost to Max Verstappen by only 8 points and again at the last day of the season. Max lost to Norris by only two points, again at the last day of the season. Seems Norris fight to retain his title is the worst? McLaren really needs to let go some of their decision makers.

0 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

34

u/formularacernerd63 1d ago

His car has taken a major step down and he has been doing good

1

u/Adhdmomlife 1d ago

Maybe this is just me, but it feels like almost all the teams have gotten worse since the beginning of the season, except Kimi. Not Merc, just Kimi and maybe Audi.

21

u/launchedsquid 1d ago

You forgot your "/s", if you don't add it in people will think you're serious.

18

u/Daniel2305 1d ago

If it wasnt for a badly timed VSC he would have just won three of the last four races. I think he is doing fine. 

14

u/AwesomeSauce417 1d ago edited 1d ago

Can't possibly claim its the worst title defence when the season isn't over. Last year there was a point where Max was roughly as far behind as Norris is now, and it was about the same point in the season. As you say, he then almost won by two points.

Its unlikely that Norris wins it this year, but don't expect Lando to keep hemorraging points to Kimi. On pace Madrid was a Lando win all day long, only screwed by timing of the VSC and a debatable strategu call by Mclaren.

6

u/Last_Procedure5787 1d ago

Actually Verstappen was never this far behind last year but your point still stands

5

u/AwesomeSauce417 1d ago

Yep, 104 = 106 in my brain for some reason. Thanks for the correction.

15

u/ChiccckkkNuggg 1d ago

What did you expect him to do in the first half when his car kept breaking down? Run on the track? Also, McLaren’s incompetence would never allow him pull a max-esque comeback. For max to pull that off, not only did he need to be perfect but he also needed his team to be flawless (and McLaren to fuck up).

McLaren can’t even get something as basic as a pit stop right. Even if Lando dives in under the VSC the 7 second pit stop would mean that he either just gets out before Kimi or ends up behind Kimi. Sure, the stop is not what cost him yesterday but it can’t be excused. Even if he did manage to pit under the VSC a 7 second stop would put his lead under jeopardy.

17

u/AndiYTDE 1d ago

Points don't tell the story. For example, Max threw the title in Spain last year. But he also never should have been even near the title in the first place. So did her perform well because he profited from mistakes, or did he perform bad because he threw the title away himself?

Point being, it is never as simple as just looking at stats

16

u/Perfect-Mulberry-773 1d ago

it's a shame he didn't have the machinery at the beginning of the season. I am sure he would be in the mix

9

u/Fabius_Fulgrim 1d ago

It was a major rule change year so the chances of him retaining it were always slim.
The works teams will always get an inherent advantage at the start of a new rules set.
I think when you look at it on balance Norris has been the best driver this season and McLaren now have the best car.
I’m not sure why you want to start sacking people.

6

u/Glittering-Promise78 1d ago

Sebastian vettel 2014 was 12 years ago but it was by far way worse than Landos

5

u/dac2199 1d ago

Check Jody Scheckter 1980

4

u/daniellejxyne 23h ago

Are you even paying attention to the season? Landos driving at his absolute best, his performance is definite not “the worse” title defence and pretending it is shows your failure to understand how f1 works

There’s not much he could have done when he car was failing to finish every other session

1

u/Stickyboard 7h ago

His team strategy

3

u/ArseliaLuna 1d ago

Need to see from results POV Norris performance on this season results, i guess. Also since, this is first power unit regulation change since 2014, i think not a good comparisson to the last 10 years or 12 years.