Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has predicted a “hungry” Lando Norris will go on to compete with the “incredible” Max Verstappen in F1 racing.

Norris has emerged as Verstappen’s closest competitor since the Formula 1 China Grand Prix, with the pair finishing first and second five times in the eight races since then, with Norris winning the championship The first Formula 1 car race in Miami. The two drivers collided while battling for the lead at the Austrian GP, ​​although both wanted to downplay the incident and maintain their friendship when asked about it at the following race at Silverstone.

Norris is currently 86 points behind Verstappen in the driver standings, but the McLaren MCL38 is widely considered the fastest car in F1, while Red Bull has struggled with upgrades in the last few races. Former Top Gear presenter Hammond praised Norris’ ability to battle Verstappen. “You want the drivers to stay close to each other’s heels,” Hammond explained at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. “He is fulfilling that role and doing it very well. “He’s young, full of energy and extremely hungry.”

Hammond praises ‘incredible’ Verstappen
Hammond, who is best known for driving Fernando Alonso’s Renault R25 V10 to victory in 2005 on Top Gear, has developed a new interest in F1 and heaped praise on three-time world champion Verstappen .

“I finally got involved in this project mainly because my daughter fell in love with it,” he said. “The racing was really exciting and thrilling, and I started to realize there was more to it than what you see on the track. “Max is an incredible talent. “I like to see natural drivers and to some extent they can learn and practice during training or practice, but sometimes it’s just natural talent.”