Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Lando Norris says improved consistency has helped him regain championship lead

Norris has gained 35 points from Piastri since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, which Piastri won and Norris retired with a fuel line failure.

This result made Piastri a strong favorite for the title, especially considering his consistency throughout the season to that point. Norris is still one win behind Piastri’s six wins so far this season.

However, Norris rejected the idea that he had started taking more risks since that race because he felt he had nothing to lose.

“Maybe in qualifying you think: ‘Well, we better do this.’ But this doesn’t happen by saying, ‘I have nothing to lose here, let’s try some more’ with every approach, every lap I make. “This is absolutely not true,” he said.

“I definitely won’t attribute it to that. I attribute it more to the fact that I work hard and have a very good team around me. I attribute 99% of it to that, 1% is a mixture of various different things. But most of the results come from the work done rather than the mindset or things.”

He said he had not considered the fact that he would lead the championship for the first time since the fourth race of the season unless others brought up the issue.

“I don’t think in terms of racing and fulfilling the dream of becoming a real champion, at the moment I still don’t feel a difference. I think nothing is completed, nothing is done.”

“There are still over 120 points left, so it doesn’t mean anything for now. It’s a nice thought to look back and think, but other than that it’s good to be there, but to win next weekend and win the last race, that’s still my goal.”