“I was nothing special.”

You do not often hear that from a Formula One driver, but that was the self-assessment of Lando Norris of McLaren in an interview about his career.

It was a humble statement from the English driver who had risen from go-karts to Formula One in just 12 years and this week was given a new long-term contract by McLaren.

Norris was 19 years and 124 days old when he made his debut at the Australian Grand Prix in March, becoming the third-youngest driver in the history of the motorsport series, behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Lance Stroll, who now drives for Racing Point.

It was the culmination of a stellar junior career in which Norris won numerous titles before finishing second in last year’s Formula Two championship behind George Russell, who is driving for Williams this season.