Lando Norris has been enduring a difficult run of form as of late, heading into this week’s Saudi Arabian GP. He struggled to match the performance of his teammate, Oscar Piastri. The Briton is determined to improve at the Saudi Arabian GP.
A struggle with the MCL39 and adapting to it
Ahead of this week’s Saudi Arabian GP, Norris opened up on his recent struggles with his MCL39 car. He is forced to adapt to a new driving style different from last year, when he finished runner-up.
“I’ve not been satisfied [with] how the last few weekends have been, not because they’ve been bad weekends necessarily, but because they’ve not been as good as they should be and as they can be.“
He did not hold back admitting his disappointment when things were not going his way, including adapting to a new driving style to match his car’s quirks.
“I’m trying to do the best possible, and when things aren’t going your way and things are not working as they should be, then I’ve been a little bit disappointed. Some of that includes me having to drive in different ways and learn different things, and that’s something I know I’m having to come into this weekend and try and do.“
“I’m not going to be able to necessarily drive like I did last year and like I know I’m good at. Which is weird to say in my seventh season of F1, but I’m still learning things, the car is definitely different from how it’s been, so I’m having to adapt a lot in uncomfortable ways.“
Norris is putting less pressure on himself to help understand things better.
“But I come in with probably less pressure. I put less pressure on myself because I probably understand a little bit more some of these reasons.”
Self-criticism and honesty
Honesty has been part of Norris’ personality. For example, he once discussed mental health struggles and is active in speaking about the issue, where most drivers struggled to do so.
He called out his poor sixth-place qualifying in the Bahrain GP, calling it as if he had never driven an F1 car.
Norris is open about his struggles and feels that being honest has no impact on his racing abilities.
“I’m just honest about my feelings, I’m not trying to put myself down or make myself feel good. I’m just telling you the truth about how I feel. That’s it.“
Norris is passionate about winning and performing, and noted how disappointed he is with himself when he makes mistakes.
“That’s what makes me perform, it’s what makes me feel confident, but it’s also because I just want to win and I’m not happy if I don’t do well, and I’m not happy if I’m sixth or make mistakes in Qualifying.“
A reset and working on seeing the positives
The gap between the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GP weekends allows Norris to “reset” and refresh.
“I needed a couple of days off and needed a reset, and I probably would have liked a few more days off, but I made the most of them.”
“I think with every athlete, as much as you try to get away, you’re still thinking about a lot of things, and for a lot of the time, I was still thinking about the difficulties that I’ve been struggling with.”
Norris is leading the Drivers’ Championship standings by 3 points over Piastri, but he needed to “remind” himself that he still led and actually won the first race of the year. He believes he can do better than this.
“I’ve tried to force myself to think of what a success the start of the season has been, yes, I know it could have been better.“
“I have to get reminded that I’m leading the championship, won the first race, and been on the podium every race, so I have to be reminded of them rather than being able to remind myself.“
Looking at the positives more
Norris said that being hard on himself was one of his key aspects. But his focus on the negatives often overshadows the positive outcomes and that needs to improve at the Saudi Arabian GP.
“I know I am hard on myself, but for 95% of it, that is a good thing, and it is what makes me who I am, and makes me have a chance in Formula 1 and to be with McLaren and fighting for a world championship.“
“But I accept there have been times when I say too many negatives, and it gets into my own head, and I don’t think of the positives as much as I should.“
“If I told myself I’d be leading the championship after four races, I’d be very happy, but probably [I] don’t remind myself [of the positive things] enough, and that’s the main area I need to improve.”
Baby steps for a full fix
Norris said McLaren has measures to aid his quest for glory in Saudi Arabia, but admits that the results won’t show overnight.
“A lot of me has been trying to figure out the issues, the struggles, and the reasoning behind it, which is the most difficult thing.”
“We have started to figure out some things where I struggle, why I struggle, and the reasons for these struggles, and trying to implement things for this weekend.“
Norris would not approach the weekend with confidence, but expressed his determination to improve.
“I’m trying to improve in those areas, so it is not like I want to come into this weekend and I’m full of confidence and know that things are going to turn around.“
“There are still things I’m going to be struggling with because there are certain things that you cannot change, but there are things I’m able to, from a driving style point of view. It is stuff I’ve never had to think of before, it is just not my normal way of driving or thinking.“
