Why Seidl won't put future F1 world champion tag on Norris

While McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl believes Lando Norris has all the skills needed to become one of F1's top drivers in the years to come, he stopped short of calling the Brit a future world champion.

The 21-year-old currently sits fourth in the drivers' standings, just six points back of Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas. Norris' strong start of the season saw him take his second career podium at Imola, finishing behind championship challengers Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

While Seidl believes Norris will be one of the top names in F1 should his development continue, he stated that predicting whether he'll become an F1 world champion is something different entirely.

“I think on Lando's side, it is impressive to see the development he has shown in the last three years,” Seidl told Formula1.com. “It's impressive to see what he's pulling off this year, and I think if he keeps developing like that as a driver and as a person, I think he has everything in some years which is required in order to be a top driver in Formula 1.

“I think to be a world champion is then again a different story again. That's something that is always difficult to predict; you need to be in the right car at the right moment, and you need to pull it off also as a driver 23 times a year and not just [a few] times.

“We have seen that through the categories, Lando is something special with all that he has done there, so it's simply important to not get carried away, also for himself with the results he has shown [before and] now this year, it's simply important to keep the head down, stay focused, work hard together with the team."