Norris outlines key F1 driver ‘risk’

Lando Norris has asserted it is still a risk for teams to promote a rookie to a full-time seat despite the current trend in F1.

Next year will see the arrival of at least three rookie drivers with Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan all confirmed on the grid.

Liam Lawson is getting a chance to see out the current season with RB, while Franco Colapinto is impressing during his mid-season call-up at Williams and has been linked to Red Bull for next season.

With several teams looking to youth, Norris asserted there are still hazards associated with such promotions.

“It's still a risk, for sure,” Norris told media including RacingNews365. “I think what you're seeing is very talented drivers come through. 

“I feel like I'm older when I say it, but, you know, like Liam, like Oscar, like Franco, I think you're going to see plenty of drivers come in and do a good job and perform and qualify well and things like that. I think that's what comes more natural to drivers. 

“But I think when you look at Formula 1, Formula 1 is not just about one weekend or two weekends or three weekends. 

“It's about 24 and it's about a whole season and it's about developing the car over seasons. And I think you'll see, and I think there are plenty of drivers that can come in and drive a Formula 1 car quickly. And I think that's the easier part of it.”

However, Norris detailed it is much tougher to sustain a high level of performance across an entire season.

“The tough part is the longer part of everything,” Norris highlighted. 

“It's the 24 races, not crashing your car every weekend, not making those silly mistakes, helping your team, being a team leader, not just looking at this season, but looking ahead to next year and on knowing when to make sacrifices for following years. 

“There's plenty of things which make a driver a more complete driver rather than someone who can just come in and perform on one weekend.

“So you have those two sides, but I'm still impressed. And I think it's still impressive to see the rates of how quickly you can get these young drivers in now.”