Lando Norris finding out the tough way after downplaying special Lewis Hamilton moment

Formula 1 star Lando Norris may be regretting his past comments on the expectations of winning races after Lewis Hamilton defied the odds to triumph at the British Grand Prix. Despite seeing partner George Russell retire and Mercedes' car still being inferior to others on the grid, Hamilton snagged his first win since 2021 in style at Silverstone on Sunday.

The result spat in the face of those who push the notion that F1 has become solely about the machines and which team has the best design. The Silver Arrows have struggled to keep pace with Red Bull and Ferrari since the start of the 2022 campaign, and now Norris' McLaren team can join that list of supreme innovators.

And yet the Briton has still notched just one win in what's been a breakthrough campaign for the Woking-based outfit. McLaren has crafted what is largely perceived to be one of, if not the fastest cars on the track, calling into question comments Norris made about Hamilton following his win at the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix.

The up-and-comer - who was in just his second F1 season - suggested there was an expectation on Mercedes' main man to "win every race" thanks to their engineering. Hamilton was gunning for his fourth straight F1 world title - and seventh overall back then - but still had to do a lot of leg work himself.

"It doesn’t mean anything to me, really. He’s in a car which should win every race, basically," he said back in 2020 after Hamilton broke the record for most F1 wins. "He has to beat one or two other drivers, that’s it. Fair play to him, he’s still doing the job he has to do."

Fast forward to today and the hierarchy has changed, with McLaren overtaking Mercedes in terms of whom has the best product - though Toto Wolff's team seem to have made huge strides in recent weeks. Both Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri have consistently out-performed their Silver Arrow counterparts, though Mercedes now boast more wins this season (two to one) following Hamilton's surge at Silverstone.

Even Norris has acknowledged McLaren's engineering prowess after lauding their car as the fastest in the paddock at the Spanish Grand Prix in June. He finished as runner-up behind Max Verstappen while partner Piastri placed fifth, leaving no room for excuses.

“I think we’re the quickest car but I just lost it at the start and then I couldn’t get past George for the first stint," Norris said after the race in Catalonia. "So I think we quite easily had the best car out there today, I just didn’t do a good enough job off the line and that one thing cost me everything. So from turn two onwards, 10 out of 10 I didn’t think I could have done much more."

His maiden F1 victory at the Miami Grand Prix in May remains the only win of his career to date, scoring four podium finishes from six outings since then. However, he's found out the battle for supremacy in the sport is not always a forgone conclusion due to superior machinery.

Perhaps Norris never envisioned himself having the best car on the track while not based at one of F1's 'Big Three' teams. Whatever the logic, it would appear past opinions have come back to bite him given he's now the one with few excuses as to why he hasn't racked up more in the win column.