Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast with Matt Baker, Lando Norris acknowledged that he currently does not have what it takes to be a proper title contender in Formula 1. However, the Briton is not letting that come in the way of doing everything he can to get himself ready.
Heading into the summer break, Norris had another disappointing race in Belgium where he fell down the order on the first lap and eventually finished behind his championship rival, Max Verstappen. Norris believes that he needs to use the month-long break to reset certain things and come back stronger.
When Baker asked him what needs to change during the summer break, Norris pointed at two things — a fresh mindset and a thorough review of their season so far. The #4 driver said, “It’s been incredible [the season], but from my side, It’s not been good enough and I’ll do what I can…”
“Even during the summer holiday time when I can review and kind of reflect on my good things and also the things that I need to and have to improve if I want to be a contender. Because at the minute, simply I don’t have what it takes because I’ve clearly made too many mistakes,” he added.
Norris knows quite well that McLaren has now become a proper championship contender in F1. He realized this as early as last season when the Woking-based team came up with the new concept in Austria.
This is why, he has often been overly critical of himself after races as the 24-year-old takes on the blame for not achieving the results the team deserves. And admitting that he is not good enough to contend for a title at the moment is a brave thing to say.
Norris explains why he is so hard on himself
F1 drivers get guidelines from their teams’ PR departments to avoid certain kinds of reactions in front of the media. So, Baker asked Norris what he thought about speaking his mind out and not filtering his emotions.
Norris said that he just simply wants to be hard on himself because he knows he can do so much more. The Briton understands that not everything he says is appropriate to say on camera. However, he reasoned, “It’s something I do for myself…”
Lando Norris rues Turn 1 mistake in #BelgianGP that cost him a chance to push on for a win.
Andrea Stella notes of strategy chosen for Norris and handling him as he doubts himself:https://t.co/mCeJuT9A6e #F1 | @sergiorf97 pic.twitter.com/cJQCykbMJm
— FormulaRapida.net (@FormulaRapidaEN) August 2, 2024
“I’m not trying to say what you want to hear, like, I’m not fussed about that… But I’m hard on myself because I know what I can do and should do.”, he added.
Heading into the second half of the season, Norris will need to make amends for his mistakes for the sake of his title challenge. He is 78 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings. If he can manage to overturn that deficit to win the championship, it will be the second-highest margin to be overturned in F1 history.
