Eleven, ninth and sixth place: These are the overall results of Lando Norris in his young Formula 1 career at McLaren. The Briton has been improving season after season and has taken a huge step forward in 2021 in particular. Experience is what Norris says is the secret recipe that made him shine so last season.
Mentally, the 22-year-old has matured in three years in the premier class. At the beginning of his Formula 1 career, Norris was tormented by self-doubt, which also had an impact on his performance. The 2021 season was the youngster’s breakthrough as he took his maiden pole position and narrowly missed his maiden Grand Prix win in Russia.
Furthermore, Norris even overshadowed the experienced and respected Daniel Ricciardo in a direct comparison. Ricciardo finished the season eighth, having lost 15 times to Norris in 22 races. For the McLaren board, one thing is certain: Norris from Bristol, UK, is a future Formula 1 race winner.
Norris: Experience is the key to success
Norris himself does not want to overestimate his success in the 2021 season, because he sees his development as completely normal. In particular, the third year in the premier class is predestined for a leap in performance, as the experience gained would make itself felt more and more, according to Norris.
“I hate to use an excuse like lack of experience,” he explains. “It’s so easy to say, ‘Oh, I’m just not that experienced,’ and I wouldn’t like to bring ‘lack of experience’ as an explanation. “I don’t like having to say that sometimes and I wanted to didn’t think it would make much of a difference.”
Norris has never spent more than a year in a racing series in his career, so he was completely ignorant of the effects of acclimatization and experience in a car and on a pool of tracks. It was only with Formula 1 that he learned how important continuity is.
Duels with Sainz helped Norris
In addition, Norris had to compete with Carlos Sainz in the first two years – one of the “best Formula 1 drivers”, as the Briton believes. “He didn’t make me look good,” explains Norris. “He’s an extremely good driver and did a great job. I have to give him that. I stood in his shadow because he did an incredible job.”
With Ricciardo, Norris has been given a new benchmark and, according to the McLaren talent, that has also had a positive effect on his development. “It was a combination of understanding the past few years, a fresh start, a different teammate and so on, and a slightly better car that I have more confidence in,” said Norris.
Add to that the experience that plays a central role in Norris’ rise in the premier class. “So I really noticed the difference more than maybe in the first year and the second year,” explains the McLaren talent, who is “very satisfied” with his development in the 2021 season. He also worked on his weaknesses and “even turned some of them into strengths”.