BARRETTO: Lando Norris is the most wanted man in F1 – but where does his long-term future lie?

“Exciting times ahead,” said Lando Norris when we chatted after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The McLaren racer had just finished fifth, bringing his tally for the final eight races of the year to 126 points. That was more than half his final season score and a haul bettered only by world champion Max Verstappen.

Talk to senior figures at his McLaren team or inside rival squads in the pit lane and the consistent view was not only was this the Briton’s finest season in F1 – in what was his fifth campaign – but they were impressed at the way he got everything – and sometimes even more – out of the car, and that was rewarded when the team gave him the machinery to fight at the front.