Lando Norris on British Grand Prix, paying the price for 2025 glory, George Russell, Max Verstappen and being at McLaren for life
As for his performance this year, Norris says he is “very happy”. He is one point behind Piastri in the championship but has retired three times behind the Australian.
The battle in qualifying is as close as ever, but Norris is now 7-4 head-to-head and just 0.022 seconds ahead.
“My performance this year was on average better than last season,” he says. “I still see this as a very complex car to drive and it’s hard to understand the ins and outs, like what is needed at each track, each corner, the settings, what is really needed to get everything out of this car.”
“So as two drivers we’re still struggling to fully understand that. But I feel like I’ve had a better start to the year than last year.”
“Last year it probably meant winning, leading the championship or not. This year it means getting between 80 and 100 points, you know?
Interestingly, there are parallels between Norris’ season last year and Britain’s George Russell’s title challenge with teammate Antonelli.
Like Norris, Russell won the opening race in Australia. Like Norris, Russell went through a tough stretch and his teammate took the lead.
The two get along well (as do most generations of drivers in the ranks at the same time), but Norris says they don’t talk about the coincidence.
“Me and George are quite different personality-wise,” Norris says. “Yes, most of the time he is more sneaky about some things. I think I am more open about some things.
“Some do a very good job. Also, when your teammate does a good job, you have to ‘take your hat off’ to him.”
“Oscar did a great job beating me last year. I was like, ‘I did a bad job and he’s doing a good job.’ I’m not afraid to say it when someone does a good job.
“Kimi is doing an incredible job this season. You know, what he’s doing at 19 years old, in his second year in Formula 1, is impressive. He’s in Formula 1 for a reason, so I don’t think it should come as a surprise.”
“He’s going up against George and obviously George has had some ups and downs; he’s definitely had more problems, issues and setbacks than Kimi has. Sometimes it’s hard to get over that, especially when you feel like you’re ready to win, get pole position or whatever it may be.”
“But he’s a smart person. I think he understands what’s needed from his perspective personally. So I’m confident he can rally when he needs to.”
