Lando Norris details mental change in F1 championship fight

Lando Norris has revealed how his mentality has changed on race weekends over the six years he’s been a Formula 1 driver. With the McLaren driver sitting just eight points behind team-mate Oscar Piastri, the pressure is indeed mounting.

Talking to Rolling Stone, the Briton shared his thoughts on his mental approach to racing – something that has been discussed plenty during his difficult start to the season. But as he gains racing experience, he also gains the skill of managing the anxiety and stress of racing in the championship. He wants to leverage this as he fights for his first world championship win.

“I think you get so used to it being normal, and you kind of get used to waking up on a Sunday, knowing that it’s race day,” Norris explained. “I remember the first year or two in Formula 1, I would wake up on a Sunday and be like, ‘Oh God!’ You’re kind of excited, nervous… you don’t know what’s going to happen because there are a lot of new situations.”

Norris finds himself in the strongest position to win the championship since he started driving for the papaya-coloured team. But his mental resilience has been a challenge he’s been forced to overcome. Dominant performances in Austria and Britain suggest this is well under control.

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“Now I’m able to anticipate much better what might happen, and I’m able to narrow down a lot more of the situations I might be in. So that’s just experience,” he continued.

“There are still times when I’m obviously more anxious, more nervous, all of these things, and then maybe not feeling as comfortable or confident or whatever,” he admitted. “But then you’ve got to try and know when those times are and turn it into excitement, and then the excitement turns into confidence when you kind of have a good plan in place.”

A number of costly errors have placed Norris behind Piastri, while seemingly increasing the pressure resting on his shoulders. Crashes in Canada and Saudi Arabia hampered his title hopes, but he now seems to be managing his mental equilibrium.

“Knowing how to turn different situations into a positive one is really the main thing,” Norris said. “But I don’t think you can avoid ever being overly excited or nervous or anxious at times. I think sometimes you’ve just got to roll with it.”