In the closing laps of the Canadian Grand Prix the two McLaren drivers engaged in battle on even terms for the first time this season. Norris closed up to Piastri on the pit straight, preparing to go wheel to wheel into the first corner, Oscar Piastri moved to close off the inside line, leaving less than a cars width between him and the pit wall. Bizarrely, Lando Norris pulled out of Piastri’s slipstream and committed to going for the gap on the inside. Inevitably, he smashed his wing as he made contact with his teammate, before colliding with the pit wall and crashing out of the race. It was a costly mistake that left onlookers bemused and one Norris would take full accountability for.
Concerns about his form were intensifying but the mistake in Montreal seemingly validated them. Questions regarding Norris’ standing in Formula One began last year, when it became apparent that McLaren’s upgrade packages had finally seen them catch up to Red Bull, with Norris taking his maiden win in Miami. McLaren would spend much of the year with the fastest car but fans were left disappointed with Lando’s title charge or lack thereof. He seemed to shrug off the off the idea of fighting with Verstappen in the standings, commenting “I really do not think of the championship at all” in Italy, a sentiment he would repeat in interviews throughout the season. After his win in Miami, he sat fifty-eight points behind Verstappen with eighteen races to go. For much of the 2024 season Norris developed a bad habit of losing his lead into the first corner and on the first lap of the Grand Prix, only converting three of his eight pole positions. His passivity would see Verstappen crowned champion with two races to spare.
Lando’s aversion to accepting he was in a position to win the championship appeared as if he wanted to avoid the pressure that came with it. Instead positioning himself to fight for the title the following season, asserting over the radio in Abu Dhabi “Next year is gonna be my year.” Had many other drivers found themselves in Norris’ position last season, it’s doubtful they would have written themselves off so persistently.
This year Lando’s problems have arose earlier than the opening lap on Sunday, rather falling short regularly in qualifying. Oscar Piastri has bested him six times in ten attempts, Norris has also found himself lining up on the grid outside the top five on three separate occasions. These poor Saturday showings have put him under pressure on race day, as he often loses time behind slower cars whilst his teammate can create a gap between the two out front.
It’s become clear that drivers such as Verstappen will race against him differently. Lando’s personality could play a factor in this. Sensitive and incredibly honest regarding his performances, these aren’t negative characteristics for a person to possess. Often associated with someone who will likely work on improving themselves, rather than looking to place blame on those around them. Nevertheless, Lando’s admirable traits could be detrimental in his current environment. His consistent self-criticism has surely pricked the ears of his rivals, potentially sensing fragility in his mental state. The consequences of this can be seen when analysing how Max Verstappen raced Norris over the previous twelve months. There have been several incidents that include Verstappen forcing him off track when going wheel to wheel. Mexico in particular is an example of when Verstappen was extreme in his methods. He barged Norris onto the grass before diving in on him a few laps later, forcing the pair to stray way off-track. If Lando doesn’t get out his way contact is inevitable. Verstappen appears to exhibit more aggression when facing Norris compared to any other driver, attempting to intimidate and essentially bully him out of a move or into making a mistake.
Not only Max’s methods, but multiple mistakes during high pressure moments support this theory. Witnessing the Red Bull driver’s tactics work, others may take the same approach. Looking back to Saudi Arabia this season, Lewis Hamilton went out of his way to battle with Norris, negatively effecting his own race but perhaps trying to force Norris into one of his errors. The attention garnered from negative self-talk and poor qualifying performances have led to him making his life in Formula One harder than it needs to be.
Not only this but errors in high pressure moments are now becoming associated with him. Competitors may notice this along with Verstappen’s tactics against Norris and adopt the same approach. Looking back to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton went out his way to battle with Norris, negatively effecting his own race but potentially trying to force Lando into one of his mistakes. Norris poor performances in qualifying combined with other drivers feeling he can be bullied on track has made it harder for him to overcome the deficit to his teammate on race day.
Nico Rosberg, self admittedly shares similar traits to Lando Norris. He too was sensitive and would often hold himself to a high standard when reflecting on his performances. Whilst fighting with Lewis Hamilton he found he would be adding to the pressure put on himself, triggering mistakes. Rosberg recalled that in the years spent with Michael Schumacher as his teammate “One of his [Schumacher’s] main missions was, never to show that I existed in his life.” He also retold a story in which Schumacher ensured Rosberg wasn’t able to use the teams only bathroom before a qualifying session as means to toy with him psychologically. Nico stated these mind games were a daily occurrence and continued when Hamilton joined Mercedes.
Not only do Nico and Lando share similarities in their personalities but also their position within the team. Nico spent seven years racing for Mercedes and Lando is currently entering his sixth. When both joined their respective teams neither was a race winning outfit. They were dubbed “best of the rest” as the three larger teams fought for race wins. Over the years both drivers played crucial roles in developing their cars but when the time came to reap the rewards they had newer faster teammates to contend with. In Rosberg’s case that was Lewis Hamilton, already a world champion and considered by many as the best on the grid. In Norris case he faces Oscar Piastri, a rookie who achieved the second highest points tally for a debutant behind the aforementioned Hamilton. Now in his third season, many believe Piastri has surpassed Norris, backing it up in every metric so far this season.
Both drivers have found themselves in the same predicament, self-doubters facing arguably better drivers in environments that could be described as toxic. For Nico that was facing Hamilton’s mind games. For Lando it’s the pressure building from the fans and media. These environments have seen the pair struggle, Rosberg failed to best Hamilton in his first three seasons, watching his teammate pick up two titles. Norris currently sits behind his teammate in championship with no sign anything will change any time soon.
In 2015 at the United States Grand Prix the rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg reached fever pitch after Hamilton drove Rosberg off-road into the first corner, dropping him down the order. Nico would fight his way back, overtaking Hamilton and retaking the lead of the Grand Prix. Astonishingly Nico would make an unforced error late in the race, handing the win and the world championship to Hamilton. His intentions are unknown but Hamilton would pass Nico his 2nd place cap in the cool down room, just to see it thrown back at him moments later. Was the gesture from Hamilton friendly or just another way to get into Rosberg’s head? Nico clearly thought the latter.
Rosberg realised he was losing the mental battle before he’d even got into his car. Knowing something had to change if he were to beat Hamilton, he took a different approach and rounded out the season on a high, winning the three final races. Heading into the 2016 campaign, Rosberg focused on addressing his mindset and implemented marginal gains as means to extract the maximum performance he could out of himself. He made sweeping lifestyle changes and prioritised his mental training over his physical, spending two hours every other day working with a sports psychologist.
Nico was able to overcome his demons and triumph in 2016 thanks to his psychological work. He did not engage in Hamilton’s games throughout the season and instead beat him with consistency. He made less unforced errors and didn’t take unnecessary risks in situations where he previously could have been baited or pressured into them. Rosberg’s methods were intense and cut his career short but were surely a worthy trade off to leave a world champion.
Despite what you’re being told, Lando Norris is not having the nightmare season everyone is making out. He sits twenty-two points behind Piastri in the drivers’ standings. Far from ideal but certainly an achievable deficit to overcome with seventeen races remaining. Norris has taken the top step on two challenging circuits, winning out in the season opener and delivering from pole in Monaco. However, his errors in search of pole positions and high-pressure moments have let him down throughout the season.
Norris doesn’t need to make radical changes on race weekends to see his fortune change. Improving his mental state by learning to better control his thoughts and emotions in the car will better equip him in pressurised moments such as qualifying, helping him iron out amateur errors like the one in Canada or something as trivial as overshooting his grid box in Bahrain. Blunders have cost him throughout the season, hamstringing him when he is capable of similar or superior race pace to Piastri. Rather than fighting for race wins as often as he’d like, he is forced to chase down the gap Piastri has created whilst Norris has been battling his way through the pack.
Oscar Piastri himself is not immune from making mistakes. In the season opener an error sent him tumbling down the order. In Imola Verstappen was able to catch him off guard, driving around the outside of Piastri at the first corner and snatching his lead. His qualifying performances have also seen him absent on the front row on occasion. Nonetheless, Lando has not always been there to capitalise on these mistakes due to his own. Last season Norris beat Piastri in sixteen races and outqualified him twenty times. This season Piastri has replied, besting Norris in qualifying and races. It was expected that he would to improve this season but this difference in results has not been caused by just one side of the garage.
If Norris possessed the levels of consistency Rosberg did in 2016 he would surely be leading the championship. Whatever work Lando has put in regarding his mental psychology doesn’t appear to be paying off. The fact he announced he wouldn’t be thinking about the title for the first half of the season along with his many cries that the McLaren is not as good as everyone else thinks, demonstrate his avoidance to the spotlight. Unlike Piastri, who has acknowledged multiple times that the title will be decided between him and his teammate. Norris mental struggles have become the centre of discussion and are being held under a microscope, mounting more pressure on him.
Nico Rosberg can offer a unique perspective having been in a near identical situation to Lando. With his opposite number considered by many to be the greatest of all time, Rosberg learnt how to control his thoughts and emotions whilst performing under pressure in a challenging environment. After prioritising his mental approach, he eliminated the mistakes that had plagued him, becoming a more consistent driver, winning nine races and most importantly scoring sixteen podiums, enough to get him over the line in the final race of the season and win the championship. Having been in the same scenario and winning Rosberg could set Lando Norris on the right track and turn his championship challenge around before it’s too late.
