Lando Norris left out world championship leader Charles Leclerc when the Brit put together his ultimate F1 driver. Norris named aspects from five drivers on the grid to make an ‘unbeatable’ star, with the absence of the Ferrari man the biggest surprise of all.
Leclerc has enjoyed a stellar start to 2022, winning the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix as well as the third round in Australia last weekend. He may have lost out to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia, but the Monegasque star secured P2 to establish a dominant 34-point lead so early in the season.
Norris was streaming on Twitch when he was asked by Reddit user NoHeroicsF1 to put together his ultimate F1 driver from five of his colleagues on the grid. The 22-year-old admits it is a tough question to be put forward to him, before clarifying he is going to select five current drivers rather than legends or figures of the past.
“You’d have Lewis in there, you’d have Max, I’d have Fernando, a bit of Carlos, and a bit of Yuki,” Norris decided. “He does a little radio scream. So for pure entertainment, I’d put Yuki in there.
Norris almost immediately acknowledged the glaring omission of Leclerc, despite the Ferrari’s star electric start to the season. However, his compatriot George Russell – who is second in the Drivers’ Standings – didn’t even get a mention.
Some of Norris’ picks, like seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and reigning king Verstappen are admittedly obvious, but they cannot be left out of such a list. Neither can Fernando Alonso, the two-time world champion who has enjoyed an incredibly encouraging start to 2022 with Alpine.
