Formula 1 rookie Lando Norris admits his true ambition would be to beat teammate Carlos Sainz “at every race” in 2019.
The Briton has enjoyed a rapid rise up the motorsport ranks winning the European F3 title in 2017 before finishing second in the F2 championship this year.
He would also join McLaren’s young driver program after impressing during a test he won as part of the Autosport BRDC Award in 2016, and his subsequent performances have earned him a promotion to a race seat for next season.
“My ideal aim is to beat Carlos at every race, and in every qualifying session,” Norris said of his target at the launch of a new McLaren phone this week.
“That is an unrealistic goal to set at the moment but I will do the best job I can and complete as much preparation as I can to be ready for it.”
As for what he does consider realistic, the 19-year-old concedes going up against Sainz will be a very different challenge to anything he’s faced in his career.
“Every year when I have gone into a new series, my teammate will have had one, maybe two seasons in that discipline, whereas Carlos is heading into his fifth year in F1, so that’s a big difference,” he noted.
“There are also some circuits I haven’t been to before – Singapore, Montreal, Melbourne – and tracks like Monaco where it is not always easy to be super-quick in an F1 car straightaway.
“But, of course, I would like to beat him, and that is my aim, and my goal.”
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While most rookies do have some grace time to settle into F1, for Norris that may not be the case as he is one of three young British drivers making the jump next season, including F2 champion George Russell.
“If anything there will be more pressure knowing that there is another guy you can be compared to,” says the 19-year-old.
“If he does really well and beats me in some areas it will be a bad thing for me.
“If I was the only rookie then I can’t be compared to anyone other than my teammate, and I could look like a hero even if I am doing really badly.
“But it’s a good thing he is in F1 and I do look forward to the races next year, wherever we are on the grid.”
The other is Alexander Albon, whom Norris revealed he looked upto with the pair sharing the same idol.
“I looked up to Alex a lot when I was young, and I liked Alex because he liked [Valentino] Rossi and he used to have #46, and had the colours and everything,” Lando explained.
“So therefore I supported Alex when I was really young. He was probably my only hero other than Rossi, which is a bit weird to think.
“But he was always a cool guy and I used to watch him in all the races from the cadets to where he is now. It’s a cool thing for Alex to be on the grid too.”
