In Japan Lando Norris “stole” a negative record from Nico Hülkenberg. Lando has in fact become the driver who has collected the most world championship points without ever obtaining a victory in F1.
Michael Schumacher claimed that ‘records are made to be broken’. And in this 2023 season, many records have been broken, almost all by Max Verstappen with Red Bull. But there are also records that the new holders would do without, like the one Norris achieved in Suzuka.
The British driver became the driver to have scored the most points in his career without ever winning a grand prix. This record belonged to Nico Hulkenberg until Sunday 24 September. In fact, in his long career he never won a grand prix, however he managed to accumulate 530 points. Thanks to his second place in Suzuka, Norris managed to collect 543 points.
Always one step away from victory
Lando Norris made his Formula 1 debut directly at the wheel of McLaren, in the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. Here he immediately demonstrated qualities of speed, consistency and skill. A year later, in 2020 in Austria Lando Norris took third place, the first of his 10 podiums so far.
In the 2021 Russian GP, Norris started in pole position, managing most of the race until it started raining. Norris did not return to the pits because he was convinced he could manage the car with slick tires. However, the rain became heavier, the car became undriveable, and he ended up in seventh place. Another missed victory was that of the 2021 Monza GP, where there was a McLaren double, but first place was won by Daniel Ricciardo, his (former) teammate.
Since then, Norris has not had a competitive car capable of giving him the much-desired first place. However, with the first update package arriving between Austria and Silverstone, the team was able to recover brilliantly. This could even go as far as signing Aston Martin for fourth place in the Constructor standings. In fact, just think that Mclaren in this 2023 season has managed to transform the MCL60 into a presentable car. They started in Bahrain with a retirement and a P17 with 6 pit stops, and now they get to fight for the podium every two weekends.
A negative record
The McLaren driver currently occupies seventh position in the drivers’ standings with 115 points. However, with his tenth overall podium, the Briton caught up with and overtook Nico Hülkenberg. He thus becomes the driver to have scored the most points in the top series without ever having achieved a victory.
Lando has earned 543 career points against the 530 total of the 36-year-old currently working for Haas. However, it should be noted that Norris has started 98 Grands Prix, less than half of Hülkenberg’s 197. If Lando Norris does not reach the top step during his next three podium appearances, he will equal another record. The highest number of podiums without even one success, a record that belongs to Nick Heidfeld at 13.
However, we must trust in the progress of the MCL60 single-seater, and be confident that Lando will be able to overcome this negative record by winning his first podium by the end of the season.
