Norris explains how he has learned to deal with F1 pressure

Lando Norris believes that struggles he faced in the early days of his F1 career have helped him deal with the external pressure that now comes with being in a championship battle, with the Briton acknowledging that he is able to use his nerves in a positive way.

After clinching a dominant victory last time out at the Dutch Grand Prix, Norris has closed the gap to Max Verstappen at the top of the drivers’ standings to 70 points with nine races remaining. McLaren are also now only 30 points away from Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.

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With much focus on how the title fight could develop this weekend at Round 16 in Monza, Norris – who is now into his sixth season in the sport – was asked ahead of the event if the scrutiny has seen him change his approach to the race weekend or even how he manages his driving style.

“Probably not as much as you’d think,” the 24-year-old explained. “I struggled a lot with this when I started in Formula 1, like my first, second year and into my third.

“Because I struggled with it so much back then, I feel like I learned pretty well how to handle it, and that’s also helped me in the position that I am now, when – I know I’m maybe not directly in the fight of a championship, where I’m neck-and-neck with Max – but just dealing with more questions and the pressure of everyone thinking that I have to deliver every single weekend, also knowing myself that I have to deliver every single weekend.

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 25: Race winner Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren poses for — Norris moved closer to Verstappen in the drivers' standings after his dominant victory at Zandvoort

“But I think, because I struggled a bit with it in the past, I feel like I’m able to deal with it in a much better way now, and therefore it doesn’t have much of an effect.

“There still is [pressure] and I know the team are probably going to feel a bit more pressure, and externally there will be more pressure on me, but it’s also up to me to deal with it in the way that I feel best.

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“At the same time, I don’t really feel it that much. I’m comfortable that I just have to go out and drive and that’s all I can do really, not think about these external things. The place I’m in now, fighting for wins and fighting in the championship, honestly I feel like it’s another weekend.”

When pushed further on whether he actually enjoys the pressure, Norris reflected on how he still experiences nerves.

“I don’t think of it at all,” he responded. “I think there’s always pressure. I still get so nervous before qualifying, before the races I still get just as excited and just as nervous.

“I barely eat anything on Sundays, I struggle to drink anything on Sundays, just because I’m nervous and because of the pressure. But I think [it’s just about] how you turn that into a positive thing, how do you not let it affect you in a bad way, how can you actually use it in a good way to help you focus on the correct things and so on.

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“I’m sure I do now and probably will forever, when you enter Q3 or any qualifying lap when you have to go out and deliver, it gives you butterflies every time because there’s so much nerves and pressure, and you know if you do one thing – brake centimetres or a metre too late, or you turn in at the wrong time or whatever it is – it’s finished, game over.

“And the knowledge of that just puts you under a very intense feeling, but also it’s an amazing feeling at the same time that I don’t feel like you can replicate in many other sports or many other things, I’m not too sure. I still get nervous and I probably will forever get nervous.”

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In terms of how much extra confidence the storming nature of his win in Zandvoort has given him going forward, Norris responded: “Not a lot. Monza’s a very different track.

“It gives the team a good amount of confidence and always a little bit of a boost, but it doesn’t change your feeling. We know we’ve been performing well the whole year since Miami, we’ve been doing a very good job and this was a weekend where everything just went perfectly.”

Reflecting further on his and McLaren’s prospects in the fight for both championships, the two-time race winner added: “We’re pushing hard every weekend, our goal is to catch in both, especially from a constructors' [standings] side it looks a lot more doable than the drivers' [standings] side.

“But I’m doing my best, the team’s doing their best and that’s all we can hope for.”