In the last five trilateral conflicts, the leader has seen his dream slip away. Norris tries to rewrite history and end a 50-year curse
Image: Reproduction/McLaren
Lando Norris reaches the end of the season to experience the most important moment of his Formula 1 career. After experiencing the peak of his career in his first real title fight, the McLaren driver faces not only the strategy of his opponents, but also a “curse” that has lasted more than 50 years.
In the last five seasons in which the championship was decided in the final stage with three or more drivers participating, the leader of the standings failed to become champion. Lando Norris can break this “curse” this weekend, becoming the first candidate to win the title since 1974, when Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi lifted the cup with the same team that Norris represents.
Back in the golden age of the 1980s, fate was equally cruel to those who dared to take the plunge. The image of Nigel Mansell’s tire blowout in 1986 remains an iconic one, a stroke of bad luck that allowed Alain Prost to steal the trophy from second place. Interestingly, Prost himself had already tasted this poison in 1983, when he saw his superiority collapse in the face of Nelson Piquet’s race. In fact, the Brazilian was a thorn in Carlos Reutemann’s path in 1981, proving time and again that in triathlon disputes, leading the standings before the final flag can be a serious harbinger of defeat.
In 2010, Fernando Alonso arrived in Abu Dhabi as the favorite, but saw the unexpected happen: the title slipped into the hands of Sebastian Vettel, who was running on the outside in third. The same dramatic script had already punished the young Lewis Hamilton in 2007. With a comfortable eight-point lead, the Briton watched helplessly as Kimi Raikkonen, also coming from third, made one of the most impressive comebacks in the sport on the final stage.
For Norris, this history represents more than just a statistic, but a challenge that can take its toll emotionally. It’s not just about maintaining consistency or avoiding mistakes, which is key in the battle for the title, but proving that you can break the ‘curse’ that actually haunts great Formula 1 drivers.
Norris’ season is a testament to impressive maturity, the result of a McLaren finally finding its groove. If ever there was a driver capable of defying this drought and breaking the half-century spell, Norris, quick, consistent and increasingly resilient in the face of pressure, appears to be the one.
Norris enters the final races with a real chance to turn this terrible statistic into fuel for his campaign. If he wins the title, it will not just be a sporting achievement, it will be a historic event that will break one of the most symbolic and dramatic sequences in Formula 1.