My 18 -7 Karting Rivalry With Lando Norris: Race by Race

Most people think racing careers are quite simple.

“If someone becomes a Formula 1 World Champion, it means he was always the best.”
“Always faster.”
“Always P1.”

Sounds logical.

But racing doesn’t really work like that.

Racing progression is far more complex than it looks.

And here’s the proof.

Between 2013 and 2014, Lando Norris and I raced each other almost every weekend. Same tracks. Same championships. Same fights at the front.

And when both of us finished the race, the score was:

18 times I finished ahead of him.
7 times he finished ahead of me.

I remove DNFs on purpose.

• If your engine breaks, you’re not slower
• If someone crashes into you, you didn’t drive worse
• So those races don’t really tell you who performed better

Now, big DISCLAIMER:

This article is not to say I was the better driver; I’d be a fool to say so.

• He was the one who made Formula 1
• He was the one who became F1 World Champion
• That’s reality

(Even though we both became karting world champions, him in 2014 and me in 2013)

But the karting tracks told a slightly different story at the time…

Karting doesn’t predict the future…. Early results don’t always define long-term career performance.

It only shows what happens in that moment with most kids with relatively equal opportunities (including budget, coaching & equipment).

So here I just want to go through those seasons race by race, explain what actually happened, and then explain why two drivers who fought each other every weekend can end up in completely different places later.

Just like Ayrton Senna and Teddy Fullerton.

Because in motorsport, results and careers are not always the same thing.

The First Time We Met

Our first proper head-to-head race was in October 2012.

WSK Final Cup. Castelletto Di Branduzzo.

The final “BIG” WSK race of the year.

At that time, we were just two young drivers trying to prove something, even though I already had a full year and a bunch of WSK wins in my bag.

I finished P2 with Fastest Lap. He finished P20.

That was the very first time we shared the same result sheet.

Now, we all know one race doesn’t mean much.

• One weekend can be luck
• Good setup
• Crash
• Traffic
• Weather

But what I remember clearly is this:

He was very fast on a clean lap. Very smooth. Very precise.

But still quite fragile in the racecraft.

I was one year older. And a lot more aggressive. So quite a bit more “race ready” (to be fair).

That difference didn’t show much in qualy. But it came out in fights (Racecraft).

And that was just the beginning.

Because from 2013 onward, we didn’t just race each other just once. We raced each other pretty much every weekend.

And that’s when things started to become interesting.

2013: The Rivalry Becomes Real

2013 was a big year for both of us.

We were literally the only two drivers to beat.

Almost every big weekend, one of us was winning.

We won a combined 11 races out of 19, a whopping 57% of the total, considering most races had 90+ drivers entering the race.

So the actual individual chances of winning on paper were about 1,1% each. (1 out of 90 given a random chance of winning).

Winter Cup — Starting on top

First big race of the season. Packed grid. 100+ drivers. 6 or 7 qualifying heats.

I won. Everything. With margin. He finished P5.

Good start for me, but more importantly, it showed the pattern that would repeat many times that year…

La Conca — Trading Wins

Next rounds at La Conca. A WSK double header.

First race, WSK Super Master Series Round 1: I won. He finished P2.

Second race, WSK Euro Series Round 1: He won. I finished P2.

That was his first major international win.

From that moment, it was clear: this wasn’t occasional anymore. We were going to fight head-to-head all year.

We were each other’s nightmares.

And not gonna lie, we pushed each other so much all that season. We didn’t want to see the other standing on the top step of the podium…

Sarno — The First Big Comeback

Super Master Series round 2.

I was supposed to start P1. Engine start failed in the formation lap. I had to start last, from the pit lane, actually.

Finished P6 with a MEGA recovery. My pace was another level. He finished P14 (I caught him up from starting in the pit lane).

That race mattered more than a normal podium. Not for the result, but for what it proved.

That I could start from the pit lane and still finish ahead of him. At least that had a strong impact to me, not sure about him.

Sarno Again — Redemption

Next Sarno race. Euro Series Round 3.

I won. He finished P3 but won the Euro Series title.

Damn it…

I was happy to have won the race, but so pissed off for the previous DNF at Zuera that cost me the title fight.

Precenicco — Triumph

Next round.

I won again. He finished P6.

I clinched the WSK Super Master Series championship early, with one round to go.

Castelletto — Banging wheels

It was “just