Lando Norris says he feels more pressure to win the championship this year after finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen last season.
But the McLaren driver believes his breakthrough 2024 campaign, in which he scored his first four grand prix wins, has given him valuable experience of the intensity of a championship fight.“Last year was a great year because now I [was] on pole quite a bit, how do I deal with those things now – leading the race, how do I deal with those things? I kind of experienced a little bit of everything last year, apart from leading the championship, that’s something I’ve still never done.
“But I raced against Max and I came out on top sometimes, he came out behind sometimes, those types of things. So I learned a lot and I think last year set me up very nicely to come into this year and actually be very calm.
“I know there’s a lot more pressure on me and everyone is like ‘now he’s got to do it’. But I’m very relaxed and calm and I feel the most relaxed I’ve ever been, but in a good way and in a ready way.”
McLaren won the constructors’ championship in 2024 and became the first Formula 1 team to reveal their new car for the upcoming season last week. Norris said it is vital they do not repeat their poor starts to recent seasons.
“We have not started the season well, ever,” he told The Fast and the Curious. “This year is the first one we’re coming in like ‘we’ve done it now’, now there is pressure and there’s the expectation of ‘you’ve done it and now you have to start it’ [the way you finished it].
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“That’s our target, but it’s difficult. Everyone’s trying to improve and make as many changes and everything as possible. But I think we are confident we’ve figured out a lot of stuff and we definitely want to start how we ended.”
Verstappen claimed he would have won last year’s title in the McLaren. Norris received some criticism last year for failing to capitalise on chances to out-score his rival.
He said he’s happy to take reasonable criticism, but has no time for those who spread false stories about him and McLaren.
“I’m all up for people having their own opinions and saying, ‘what happens if he did this’, ‘should he have done that’,” he said. “I respect all those things, and a lot of those people’s jobs is to kind of comment on these things and so forth.
“The only thing you don’t respect is people who think they know better when they most likely don’t because they weren’t in that situation, they’re not living that moment. And false stuff. Stuff that’s just like, ‘how the hell has someone come up with that’?”
He admitted some false stories have had an effect on him in the past. “People don’t call it conspiracy theories now, they just call it ‘their facts’,” said Norris. “‘My personal facts’. That’s not how it works. That’s not the definition of ‘the facts’.
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“Again, you learn how to deal with these things, and that’s something I probably was affected by a lot more before. I think last year, I was. You’ve just got to live with it and roll with it, the fact that people are criticising you or supporting you.
“Of course, you always are much happier about those supporters. But I know I’m going to get criticised. I criticise myself all the time. I want my team to criticise me. And the thing I probably almost hate the most in the world is people who try to make me feel good and do it in the wrong way. I prefer the criticism than a ‘fake’ happiness.”
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DB-C90 (@dbradock)
17th February 2025, 10:48
How about we wait until theirs actually hit the testing track. There’s no Guarantees that this years McLaren will be as good as last years.
Craig
17th February 2025, 12:15
As much as I think McLaren and Ferrari are potentially in the strongest position with Red Bull and Mercedes somewhat unknown how to how strong they’ll be, until the cars are on track in anger it’s impossible to tell.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th February 2025, 14:20
Well, I guess McLaren do know whether the car is as good (better?) than last year, and Lando drove it already too. The thing we really don’t know, is how it will stack up to the other new cars, since being just as good as last year is of little use when everyone has made a step forward!
And off course these questions were asked with that presentation of their new car.
What still matters is that yes, they DO need to be fast from the start of the year onwards, unlike their recent seasons. And it is rather obvious that both McLaren and Norris (and Piastri) have learnt a lot from last year and will be better. Will it be enough lessons learned? We are indeed only going to find out once the season gets going. Looking forward to seeing how that goes personally.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
17th February 2025, 18:11
Yeh stop speculation, lets just close the f1 media world down till FP1
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
17th February 2025, 11:29
Every year hes stepped up a level and beaten his team mate despite some people saying he will finally be shown up. He needs to step up one more level to beat Max and thats around his race craft specifically round Max. If he can do that and his car is as good as last year, he can win it and if it is the best car only Mclaren themselves can stop him, which to be honest, they have form for
David BR (@david-br)
17th February 2025, 11:34
Okay… Stressed but relaxed about it, got it!
AlanD
17th February 2025, 13:26
Thirty years ago, I heard a top sportsman (forget who) what his secret was and he said it was a mindset of relaxed concentration. At the time, people said that was a contradiction, didn;t make sense. These days the term is much more widely used, and it is sort of what Norris is talking about, being focused on the improvements he needs to make, but being relaxed and controlled in their execustion.
Ludewig
18th February 2025, 9:14
That’s just a description of being ‘in the zone.’
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 13:10
Besides this, he said he needed to “stop making silly mistakes” just the other day. He needs to stop sharing so much, being so publicly self-critical (even when he did mess up) and just clam up and do his talking on the track.
All this achieves is putting more pressure on him and keeping people talking about his mistakes, which will in turn put more pressure on him. He seems like he needs a decent manager too.
Dex
17th February 2025, 14:45
Recycling, always same questions and, of course, same answers that logically follow them. Norris and pressure, Norris and growing pressure, Norris under more pressure, Norris – will he learn from Verstappen, Norris – the title fight, Norris and pressure… All right. Sure, nothing is happening at the moment, but this feels like October last year or something, the month that never ends.
F1ed (@rinodina)
17th February 2025, 17:04
Lando talks too much.
Oople ZERO
17th February 2025, 17:30
@rinodina
What an ignorant statement.
The guy is literally answering a question posed to him. What do you want him to do, just not answer? smh…
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 22:15
Uh, he could just say “I feel fine” every time they asked him and the media would stop asking the same dumb questions over and over. And if they didn’t, they’d keep getting the same answer and it wouldn’t be a headline. smh…
BasCB (@bascb)
18th February 2025, 7:10
Right, or he could go with “no comment” every time. Would be great for all fans if drivers reverted back to talking at most in PR statements now, wouldn’t it.
I really am flabbergasted by fans telling drivers who try to give an honest and real answer to a question to just give the non answer instead because YOU feel he should be damaging himself by saying things as he sees them at the time of answering. What about actually seeing this as a guy wanting to be open, wanting to give his fans a real answer and insight in himself and feeling fine doing so? Why would that be weak or damaging to himself?
As he mentions, he himself will almost always criticize himself the hardest (but then, you tell him not to say so either), he admits he isn’t always thinking he’s invincible and infallible. That is wholly normal and human to do.
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
18th February 2025, 18:15
The normal human mentality isn’t going to win him a championship.
El Pollo Loco
18th February 2025, 22:10
Come again?
F1ed (@rinodina)
18th February 2025, 14:04
I just said he talks too much.
Going on and on and on and on about how he could have won in 2024 and how he is planning to win in 2025. It’s starting to get boring. Let him prove it on track first.
Edvaldo
17th February 2025, 17:08
Well, at least now we can expect him to know the chance is there, unlike last season, when it took him some seventeen races to realize it.
An Sionnach
17th February 2025, 17:33
You can do it, Lando.
Continue to beat Piastri. Then, it’s up to the cars.
Charles and Lewis will each have a lot to do unless the Ferrari is somehow way better than the competition.
Max and George shouldn’t have as much trouble with their team mates, but it would be a surprise if they have consistently competitive cars.
If Mercedes and Red Bull do get it together, McLaren and Ferrari will need to decide whether they’re serious about the drivers’ championship early.
Leo B
17th February 2025, 17:35
Yap yap yap. Norris did a lot of this last season. Hey coulda this he shoulda that.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Piastri has used the break well and may just surprise Lando when the racing starts. He is a man of few words.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
17th February 2025, 18:12
This is the 3rd year in a row i’ve read this comment
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 22:27
Just like Norris perennially saying it was easy to win when in the best car and we saw how that went. The “Piastri has got Lando’s number this year” narrative is a similar fantasy, but so is the narrative that Lando will ever be a complete driver. He’s had forever now.
I know you’re really excited he’s beaten a washed up Ricciardo and a Williams era Bottas level teammate, but unless he has the best car from start to finish, don’t expect any surprises from the world’s most experienced ever “developing” driver.
An Sionnach
17th February 2025, 22:49
The hope for Lando and all of the other drivers on the grid is that once Max is not in the running, you don’t have to be a complete driver to win the championship.
Is Max complete? After last year it’s harder to say “no”, but there is at least one area where he can improve. With patience, this will come. He showed he can do it in Brazil.
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 23:00
Every single driver has shown small cracks in the right situation in small areas including the likes of Prost, Schumacher, Alonso, Senna, etc. So, if Max isn’t a complete driver I don’t know who is. It sounds like you’re saying complete = perfect. I left Lewis off that complete list because he’s often been shown to not excel when in cars that require constant adaptation. He makes up for it in other ways though.
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 23:04
But PS I 100% agree with the other part of your premise. If Max is in an uncompetitive car or not in the field and with Lewis and Alonso being 15+ years old than them, Leclerc, Lando and Le George become extremely strong candidates for the WDC.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
18th February 2025, 11:17
No one is s a complete driver and bar Lewis’ qually in Singpaore in 2018 or maybe Senna at Monaco theres probably never even been a completely perfect qually lap let alone race or driver or championship win. Lando is way off complete for sure but he’s growing each year. What he isnt is a Max or Lewis. Who is? Piquet won 3 WDCs by being comfortably the least complete driver in the 1980s
Leo B
18th February 2025, 12:06
Having read these several good arguments here, I still put my money on Piastri rather than Norris. :))