Two-time world champion, Mike Hakkinen believes that Lando Norris is at the same level as Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

The Finn's comments are hardly likely to make Norris feel any better following a hugely disappointing start to his season last weekend in Bahrain which saw him finish last, two laps down on Verstappen.

Indeed, after just one round of the 2022 season, there is already media speculation over the youngster's future, despite Norris being contracted to McLaren until the end of 2025.

"He's a very quick driver, he's achieved a lot, or rather he's shown convincing results consistently," Hakkinen tells Unibet.

"He's super-talented, no question about it," he adds. "He's on the same level as Leclerc, Verstappen and Sainz. He's on a very high-level speed-wise."

Hakkinen, who spent eight seasons at McLaren, the majority of his F1 career, winning back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999, believes his old team will come good again, but not for several years.

"I don't think McLaren has very high expectations this year," he admits. "They know their development department, and their sponsors and partners are world-class technology giants. McLaren has their support but the team knows they aren't quite there yet. The results need a couple more years.

"They are in it for the long run and have good partners," he adds. "Like I said, there might be some results this year but I think the true performance will be seen in a couple of years."

Though Norris is only 23, now in his fifth season with McLaren, it is unlikely that he will feel prepared to wait those couple of years.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 13/03/2023 8:35

"Lando has certainly shown himself to be quick, but most of the drivers on the F1 grid are! The comparison with Max is interesting, but unlike Max he's never been in a car with a realistic possibility of getting to the front. Max, OTOH has been in a fast Red Bull for much of his F1 career, not only that he's been the one anointed by Marko et al to wear the crown.
That competitive car & very supportive environment should not be discounted. It also helped the young Hamilton at both McLaren & latterly at Mercedes & I suspect is an important part of moving from "fast" to "winning". It looks like Russel is going to benefit from it too - assuming Mercedes can drag themselves back from the brink.
F1 history is littered with the metaphorical corpses of potentially great drivers who never were. I really hope Lando gets some breaks, but if he's stuck in a slow car his abilities may never fully develop,"

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2. Posted by Defiant, 12/03/2023 19:10

"High praise indeed. I like Lando a lot, I think he's an extremely impressive driver, however I'm not sure if I'm convinced of this accolade yet. Max has been devastatingly quick and consistently so for a long time.
Time will hopefully prove Mika right."

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3. Posted by Mad Matt, 12/03/2023 9:58

"Nice thing for Lando to hear and I certainly think he's a good driver.... but in the end it doesn't mean much until he's in a position to use whatever talent he's got to win races and a championship, then we'll see how good he really is."

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Norris on the same level as Verstappen, claims Hakkinen

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