Lando Norris had a tough outing at the recently concluded Qatar Grand Prix. The 23-year-old struggled with the track limits at Qatar, which, in the end, hampered his overall race results. It was the same race that saw his teammate Oscar Piastri claim the win in the Sprint and take P2 in the main race. Despite being the senior driver in the team, Norris has been challenged several times by his rookie teammate and even beaten this season, something he hasn’t faced in his racing career till now.
Furthermore, the young British driver also faced enormous trolling on social media following the conclusion of the Qatar GP. And when a teary-eyed Norris talked to the press conference post-race, it was evident that he was having self-doubt due to recent performances.
Close, but it’s on me. I messed it up today. Sorry pic.twitter.com/HaBCwNcUuA
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) October 6, 2023
In a talk with Sky Sports, 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg recently shared his thoughts on Norris’s breakdown in front of the public, which could affect the McLaren star’s mental health.
Nico Rosberg worried about Lando Norris’ mental health
On a podcast, Rosberg recently opened up on Norris and his post-race self-criticism. There, he pointed out how the British driver could suffer from mental health issues due to this.
Talking about this, the former Mercedes star stated during the Sky Sports F1 podcast, “What was a little bit of a worry because Lando always says himself how he has sometimes challenges with mental health, and I saw some signs unfolding again this weekend.”
Following this, the German former driver added how the McLaren star is often engrossed in mental struggle. Nevertheless, Rosberg also spoke about helping Norris, citing his personal knowledge of psychology.
Is Norris extra critical of his performance because of Piastri’s mega rise?
Lando Norris has been a bit too critical about his performances off late. This has come amid his teammate Oscar Piastri’s stunning form that compared that Australian with that of Lewis Hamilton in his debut season.
This led the British driver to stay under pressure to deliver week-in and week-out and keep up with his teammate. The latest P2 and Sprint win at Qatar further added more misery to the 23-year-old as he is expected to come under scrutiny if he doesn’t deliver.
All in all, Norris is no longer having the same scenario that he had with Daniel Ricciardo. In 2023, he is having to extract out every bit of performance if he wants to avoid being beaten by his rookie teammate in his very first season in the team. Currently, Norris stands in P7 in the driver’s championship with 136 points, whereas Piastri is in P9 with 83 points after 17 rounds of the 2023 F1 season.
