Lando Norris matches new F1 record after keeping Max Verstappen honest in Brazil

06 November 2023 , 10:32

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Max Verstappen finished ahead of Lando Norris to win the Brazilian Grand Prix (Image: Getty Images)

Lando Norris now has the joint-most podium appearances without a race victory following Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

McLaren's Norris finished second behind world champion Max Verstappen at Interlagos. Red Bull have completely dominated Formula 1 this year, winning 19 of the 20 races so far. Remarkably, world champion Verstappen has won 17 of those events.

Verstappen's dominance is also evident by Norris' long wait for a maiden race victory. The Brit has appeared on the podium 13 times during his career without a win, equalling the record held by Nick Heidfeld. Seven of those podiums have come this year.

Although Norris will continue pushing for a maiden triumph, he isn't confident of winning any time soon thanks to Verstappen. The McLaren star believes second "is as good as you can get", raising huge question marks over the competitiveness of F1.

Norris was asked about his unfortunate podium record while talking to the press after Sunday's race. The 23-year-old replied: "P2 is as good as you can get nowadays and for the time being. But very happy for the rest of it."

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Norris started Sunday's race in sixth and did well to climb up to second, finishing just over eight seconds after Verstappen. Norris started Saturday's Sprint race on pole but was also forced to settle for second in that after Verstappen stormed to victory.

Norris is desperate for his maiden victory in Formula 1 (Getty Images)

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Yet Norris has taken the positives from Brazil. He added: "It (Sunday's race) couldn’t have gone much better, to be honest. Good pace, similar to yesterday, which is the main thing. A much better start in the beginning to get from sixth to second, which was a nice surprise. My start yesterday was not so good so I tried to work on it and it got better."

Norris continued: "Max always seemed to have an answer to everything. Which is a shame, but fair play to him - he drove a good race. So tough with the wind conditions and everything, but P2 is a good result."

Fernando Alonso was also happy with his result after holding off Sergio Perez to finish in third. It was a productive weekend for Aston Martin, with Lance Stroll finishing in fifth and achieving his best result since April's Australian Grand Prix.

Alonso said: "We have been struggling for the last couple of months, especially the last two events with two retirements, so this podium is for them and everyone back at the factory, and so we keep fighting until the last lap."

Tom Blow