Lando Norris makes his feelings known about the media taking comments out of context during the FIA Gala
McLaren driver Lando Norris claimed that he was retracting from his statements made at the end of the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he termed Max Verstappen's race win "all luck and no talent". The race weekend at the iconic Interlagos Circuit turned out to be a pivotal point in the driver's championship between the two title protagonists.
After starting from P1, Norris had a golden opportunity to cut down the Red Bull driver's lead significantly but was unable to pounce on the opportunity. He finished P6 while the Dutch driver claimed an exceptional race when starting from P17.
At the end of the race, Norris termed Verstapepn's victory as "all luck and no talent" as the latter took advantage of a red flag that allowed him a free pit stop and leapfrog most of the grid.
During the FIA Gala in Rwanda, the British driver clarified his stance on his comments from Brazil and called out the media for taking it out of context. He said:
“First of all, I retract that comment back there, where I said it was all luck, no talent. You know how the media changes things. But first of all congratulations to Max.
"What he did this year, and what he did in Brazil this year was incredible. So I’m the first one to acknowledge such a thing when I’m the one going up against him.”
Lando Norris summarizes his 2024 campaign at the FIA Gala
McLaren driver Lando Norris stated that it was a "tough" year given that he finished behind Max Verstappen in the driver's championship but accepted that it was an achievement on its own.
As per PlanetF1, the 25-year-old reflected on his first title challenge and said:
"It was a tough season, of course. I tried to put up my best and give the best battle that I could, but this year was not enough. At the same time, sometimes I’m happy to finish second to Max because I think it’s an achievement to do a lot better than that. A wonderful year for myself.
"A lot of achievements. A lot of improvements from myself — but I also know that I need to step it up and do more than I did this year, so I’m excited to look forward to next year and try to do the same.”
Lando Norris ultimately finished 63 points behind Max Verstappen, who claimed his fourth successive world championship in the 2024 season.
But the British driver was able to guide McLaren to their first constructor's championship since 1998, as he won four races throughout the year and helped the Woking-based outfit hold off the challenge fom Ferrari in the final few races.