McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has opened up about wanting to do things his own way, despite sometimes wishing he were as uncompromising as Max Verstappen.
Norris is competing in his seventh F1 season and has emerged as one of the world championship’s first drivers to pour their hearts out when it comes to mental health.
Having managed the pressure factor better as he gained experience, the Briton still rarely displays an expansive personality in the paddock and can be less assertive than a ruthless Verstappen – on and off the track.
Asked by David Coulthard for Dutch F1 broadcaster Viaplay, in an interview that was broadcast right before the Zandvoort race, how he remained so ‘open, analytical and sharing’, Norris remarked: “Everyone is different, and it’s not like my way is definitely right.
“I admire characteristics and mentalities of other drivers such as Max, where it really is that kind of ‘f*** you’ attitude. Sometimes I’m like, ‘I wish I was more like that, I really do’. But it’s just the difference of people, and Max probably contrasts with me the most in some ways.
“And some days I know what I have, it can be weaker and it can be taken advantage of – but only if I really give in to you or media or anyone questioning a lot and saying it is a weakness because Lewis wasn’t like that, Max, a four-time world champion, is not like that; these guys weren’t like that, Senna, Prost, whoever you want to say.
“But I guess what I’ll be most proud of is if I can do it, and just do it my way. I can set – not a new standard, but a new way of, ‘you don’t need to be a dickhead, you don’t need to have that kind of attitude’. I want to do it my way.”
Norris: ‘Oscar makes me look like I’m emotional’
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
There has also been contrast between Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri as they duel for the world title. The 24-year-old Australian looks unfazed in all circumstances, which tends to give him an edge in high-pressure situations, while his elder sees experience as the one way to make a difference in their battle.
“As much as I always hated using experience as an excuse or reasoning for things, you end up going, ‘yeah, well, I just learned about this because of experience’,” Norris admitted. “And that is my advantage over Oscar.
“But he certainly doesn’t lack in speed, talent, ability in any sense of the word. So, I know what I’m going up against. I’m going up against a guy who is the same speed as me and just as good as me. He’s incredibly calm.
“He’s cool. I feel like I am, but he makes me look like I’m emotional.”
Norris eventually suffered a costly mechanical retirement in the Dutch Grand Prix, with his deficit to championship leader Piastri skyrocketing to 34 points. This may however have a silver lining, as his newfound dark-horse status is set to free him from much of the pressure stemming from the title race.
Additional reporting by Laurens Stade
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