British teenager Lando Norris would follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton when he makes his Formula One race debut for McLaren next season, but the team are wary of too many comparisons.
Principal Zak Brown is excited by the 18-year-old’s potential, but he also knows under-performing McLaren are a very different team to the one Hamilton joined in 2007 at the age of 22.
It is also fair to say that McLaren’s track record with young prospects in the years since Hamilton left for Mercedes has been — like the team’s recent race performances — unimpressive.
Photo: AFP
“I think he is a future world champion,” Brown said at the factory on Tuesday, a day after the announcement that Norris would partner Spaniard Carlos Sainz next year, when asked whether he had “the next Lewis Hamilton.”
“We don’t want to draw comparisons to other drivers. That’s part of what might put too much pressure on him too quickly,” he added. “Lewis is a unique individual who may go down as the most successful Formula One driver ever.”
“Lewis walked in to a lot of testing and an outstanding race car,” he said. “He [Norris] is arriving to a winning team with a losing car.”
Norris has also blazed a winning trail through go-karts and junior series, Brown said, adding: “There were a lot of Formula One teams that wanted him, so he’s certainly here on merit.”
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
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